RF-PLASMA NITRIDING OF STAINLESS-STEEL

This paper presents results from a study of the nitriding of AISI-316 stainless steel by a low-pressure pure-nitrogen rf plasma at a tempera ture of 400 degrees C. The nitrided layers were examined with scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering and microhardness measurements. The results, when correlated with results from Langmuir-probe and spectroscopy measurements on the plasma, sugg est that the density of excited neutral molecules is a more important influence on the nitriding kinetics than the density of ions in this p articular process. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A.