Low temperature nitriding and carburizing of AISI304 stainless steel by a low pressure plasma arc source

This paper presents results on the nitriding and carbrizing of AISI 304 stainless steel by a low-pressure plasma arc source at 420°C in ArN2H2 or ArH2CH3COCH3 (acetone) gas mixtures. The working pressure was 0.3–0.4 Pa and the negative voltage applied to the samples was 0.8–1 kV. The phase of nitrided layer formed on the surface was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The hardness of the samples was measured by using a Vickers microhardness tester with the load of 100 g. X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy were also carried out to elucidate the chemical states and N concentration of the nitrided layer. The surface properties were investigated by wear and corrosion measurements.