Wear reduction in AISI 630 martensitic stainless steel after energetic nitrogen ion implantation

A significant wear reduction by several orders of magnitude is the common result for austenitic stainless steels after energetic nitrogen implantation at medium temperatures around 380 °C. In contrast, martensitic stainless steels are rarely investigated. In this investigation, one steel grade, stainless steel AISI 630/DIN 1.4542, is treated using low energy nitrogen implantation at 380 and 600 °C, high voltage nitrogen plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) and combined carbon/nitrogen PIII at 380 °C. Using PIII, an expanded martensitic lattice extending several micrometers into the sample was observed, whereas Fe4N and CrN were formed after low energy implantation at 380 and 600 °C, respectively. All samples show a hardness of up to 2000 HV and a wear reduction by two orders of magnitude. Additional metallographic cross-sections confirm the microstructure derived from XRD data.