In-situ stability study of nitrocarburized 304 stainless steel during heating

Plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) has been employed for nitrocarburizing 304 stainless steel. The sample was treated at relatively low gas pressure of nitrogen and acetylene in the range of 10−3 mbar. The microstructure variation, the austenite lattices spacing and the phase transformations were studied in-situ during heating up to 800 °C and after cooling, using synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Glow discharge optical spectroscopy (GDOS), optical microscopy and hardness profile measurements have been used before and after thermal treatment to analyse the nitrocarburized layer.