Mo and Ag ion implantation in austenitic, ferritic and duplex stainless steels: A comparative study

An austenitic (316LVM), a ferritic (430) and an austenitic–ferritic (duplex) stainless steels were implanted with molybdenum ions at 150 keV and silver ions at 170 keV with fluences between 1 × 1016 and 3 × 1016 ions cm− 2. The crystallographic structure of implanted layers was investigated by Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXRD). Experimental data lead to the conclusion that ion implantations induced for low fluences (1 × 1016 ions cm− 2) a shift of diffraction peaks of all the initial lattice(s) toward lower angles in the implanted layer. For higher fluences (from1.5 × 1016 ions cm− 2) ferrite was formed for 316LVM and higher amount of ferrite is observed for duplex steels. The topography and the magnetic response of the surface were investigated by Atomic and Magnetic Force Microscopy (AFM/MFM). For high fluences (from 1.5 × 1016 ions cm− 2), ferrite formation for implanted 316LVM was put in evidence by MFM.