HARDENING OF STEEL BY BORON ION-IMPLANTATION - DEPENDENCE ON PHASE-COMPOSITION

The influence of the initial phase composition on the microhardness of 304 stainless steel before and after boron ion implantation has been studied. The initial phase composition is influenced by the specimen p reparation methods used and has been determined using Glancing Angle X -ray Diffraction (GAXD). Electropolishing resulted in purely austeniti c (feel specimens. Electropolishing followed by mechanical polishing r esulted in the introduction of a martensitic (bcc) phase. Elastic Reco il Detection Analyses (ERDA) was used for boron depth profiling in the steel. The peak concentration of implanted boron was found to be high er in martensitic specimens. These specimens exhibit higher microhardn ess.