In situ photoemission electron spectroscopy study of nitrogen ion implanted AISI-H13 steel

In this paper we report the effect of hydrogen on the structural properties of AISI-H13 steel nitrogen-implanted samples in low oxygen partial pressure atmosphere. The samples were implanted in a high vacuum chamber by using a broad ion beam source. The H-2(+)/N-2(+) ion composition of the beam was varied and the surface composition studied in situ by photoemission electron spectroscopy (XPS). The samples were also ex situ analyzed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), including energy-dispersive spectroscopy measurements. It was found that hydrogen has the effect of modifying the amount of retained nitrogen at the surfaces. This result shows that hydrogen plays a role beyond the well-established effect of oxygen etching in industrial machines where vacuum is relatively less well controlled. Finally, an optimum concentration of 20-40% [H-2]/[H-2+N-2] ion beam composition was determined to obtain maximum nitrogen incorporation on the metal surface. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.20072566257