Plasma-Based Ion Implantation Treatments Under Industrially Relevant Conditions

Industrially relevant PIII conditions were applied to H13 and CrNiMo 316 steel as well as in CrCoMo and Ti6Al4V metal alloys. Typically, nitrogen ions were implanted at peak voltages of 10 to 15 kV, 50 to 80 (s pulse durations, and 1 to 2 kHz frequencies, for treatment times of 1 to12h. Case thicknesses of more than 20 μm were achieved in treated H13 steel which resulted in reduced friction and wear. For CrNiMo steel, a wear reduction of as high as 160 times was obtained besides a significant reduction of the coefficient of friction. Much thinner modified layer was obtained for Ti6Al4V but sufficient for an important improvement of the surface hardness.