A 50 mu m thickness polyimide (PI) film was implanted with 120 keV nit
rogen ion to doses of 5 x 10(14) ions cm(-2) and 5 x 10(16) ions cm(-2
) The structure of the treated PI was characterized by X-ray photoelec
tron spectroscopy (XPS) and reflecting FT-IR, whereas the friction and
wear behaviors of both implanted and unimplanted PI were investigated
using a one-way reciprocating friction tester against a steel ball. R
esults indicate that nitrogen ion implantation decreases friction coef
ficient as well as wear rate, especially for the dose of 5 x 10(16) io
ns cm(-2). XPS and FT-IR analyses suggest the formation of cross-linki
ng with CN bond during the process of nitrogen ion implantation.