SPECIAL FEATURES OF OXYGEN DISTRIBUTION IN THE SURFACE REGION OF STEEL 10KHN2 UNDER THE EFFECT OF GAS-DISCHARGE PLASMA

In recent years technological processes and methods of treatment that include the use of low-temperature gas-discharge plasma have become ve ry popular. Ion-plasma technologies are used successfully for cleaning the surface of materials or creating thin-film structures and coating s and for chemicothermal treatment (nitriding, siliconizing, boronizin g, carburizing, etc.) of various metals and alloys. The effect of the plasma of a gas glow discharge on a solid body can be manifested in a change in the chemical composition of its surface region. This is caus ed by the introduction of elements from the gas atmosphere into the sp ecimen and by the redistribution of the matrix components in this regi on. The nature of such a redistribution of the components under the ac tion of a gas-discharge plasma is not completely clear, which, among o ther reasons, is associated with the insufficiency of experimental and theoretical data on the problem. The present work concerns the causes and possible mechanism of the appearance of an oxygen-rich layer in t he near-surface region of steel 10KhN2 after the action of a glow-disc harge plasma in He, N-2 + 25% H-2, and Ar atmospheres. A correct expla nation of this phenomenon can have a decisive role in understanding th e special features of the diffusion processes occurring in a solid bod y under the effect of a gas-discharge plasma.