AVS 45th International Symposium
    Vacuum Metallurgy Division Monday Sessions
       Session VM-MoP

Paper VM-MoP4
Microwave Plasma Nitriding of Pure Iron

Monday, November 2, 1998, 5:30 pm, Room Hall A

Session: Vacuum Metallurgy Division Poster Session
Presenter: E. Camps, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares, Mexico
Authors: E. Camps, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares, Mexico
S. Muhl, IIM, UNAM, Mexico
O. Alvarez-Fregoso, IIM, UNAM, Mexico
J. Chavez-Carvayar, IIM, UNAM, Mexico
O. Olea-Cardoso, UAEM, Mexico
Correspondent: Click to Email
This paper presents the results of a study in which the performance of an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma source has been evaluated in regard to it's use for the nitriding of pure Fe. Diagnostic measurements,using optical emission spectroscopy (OES), Langmuir probes and an ion analyzer, were recorded as functions of the working pressure (2 - 8 x 10@super -4@ Torr) and for two different configurations of the external magnetic field near the substrate (compressed and divergent plasma flux). It was observed that the plasma source is capable of producing high density discharges, about 5 x 10@super 11@ cm@super -3@ and ion energies about 15 25 eV. Although the average ion energy was higher for the case of a divergent plasma flux (~ 45 eV). The most abundant radicals produced in the N/H discharges were NH, N@sub 2@ and N@sub 2@ @super +@ species. Experiments for nitriding of Fe showed the formation of distinct material structures when using different plasma conditions. Under certain conditions it was possible to form almost single phases of Fe@sub 3@N and Fe@sub 16@N@sub 2@ in the sample surface.