Boron and nitrogen implantation of steels

Samples of four steels with varying chromium content were implanted with boron and seperately with nitrogen. Implantation energy was 75 keV in all cases. Implantation profiles were modeled using TRIM and determined experimentally by ion beam analysis. Boron ion sources leading to improved ion beams will be discussed, Material characterization included tribology and nano-indentation, Implanted materials showed improvements in wear resistance in all cases involving boron implantation, while nitrogen implantation resulted in improved wear resistance for three of the four materials. Reduced coefficients of friction were observed for boron implanted materials with a surface layer of amorphous carbon. The improvement of wear rate due to implantation and reduced coefficient of friction due to the carbon layer were independent results allowing for separate control of these properties. Nano-indentation results show an increase in the hardness of the implanted regions for two of the materials, 1018 and 304. Results of micro-structural analysis through grazing incidenceglancing angle X-ray diffraction showed iron-nitride formation and in one case chromium-nitride formation, Evidence of iron-boride compound formation in boron implanted materials has been seen.