The effects of treatment temperature on the structure and corrosion-resistance of AISI304 stainless steel treated by low voltage plasma immersion ion implantation

Summary form only given. Low voltage plasma immersion ion implantation (pill) has been demonstrated to have great potentials in industrial applications. The process is characterized by a thin plasma sheath and high ion flux compared to conventional high-voltage elevated-temperature plasma immersion ion implantation. Hence, it is more suitable for samples with an irregular shape. Our work on AISI304 stainless steel materials shows that both the tribological properties and corrosion resistance of the treated samples can be enhanced by this method. In this paper, we focus on the effects of the treatment temperature on the structure and corrosion resistance of the samples at a sample bias of 2 kV. After treatment, expanded austenites (/spl gamma//sub N/) is formed in the top surface layer as revealed by glancing-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the amount of the /spl gamma//sub N/ phase increases with the treatment temperature up to 450/spl deg/C. Meanwhile, the thickness of the modified layers varies exponentially with the sample temperature. The corrosion resistance is also substantially enhanced as shown by polarization test and SEM. The polarization curves demonstrate that the electrochemical properties also depend on the treatment temperature. In fact, the synergetic effect of the sample temperature and high ion flux (dose rate) determines the final surface properties of the treated samples.