Nitrogen implantation of AISI 304 stainless steel with a coaxial plasma gun

The application of a plasma focus (PF) device operated at 1 kJ and 25 kV as a pulsed ion implanter is described. Samples of AISI 304 stainless steel implanted with nitrogen with this device show a reduction of wear of 42 times with respect to the implanted ones, with a reduction, at the same time of the friction coefficient. X-ray diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses of nitrided samples show the Fe2N precipitate formation, in an almost homogeneous ∼0.4-μm-thick superficial layer. The feasibility of the use of the PF as an implanter arises from these results as well as the possibility of designing and constructing similar systems that could perform the whole process (e.g., nitriding) in short time intervals (∼10 s).