Dynamic nitrogen and titanium plasma ion implantation/deposition at different bias voltages

Titanium oxynitride films were prepared on AISI 304 stainless steel samples employing dual titanium and nitrogen plasmas in an immersion configuration . The vacuum are source provided the titanium plasma and the nitrogen plasm a was sustained by hot filament glow discharge. A 30 mus implantation durat ion and 270 mus titanium are duration were used in our plasma ion implantat ion and deposition (PIID) process. The impact of the implantation voltages (8 kV, 16 kV and 23 kV) on the film was investigated. The treated samples w ere characterized using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Our results reveal that the thickness of the coating is n ot changed significantly by the applied voltage. However, the surface morph ology varies substantially with the implantation voltage. The 8-kV sample s hows the highest titanium content and a smooth island-shaped surface wherea s the 23-kV sample features peaks with sharper edges. (C) 2001 Elsevier Sci ence B.V. All rights reserved.