AVS 50th International Symposium
    Plasma Science and Technology Wednesday Sessions
       Session PS1-WeA

Paper PS1-WeA3
Plasma Nitriding and Reactive Deposition in Electron Beam Generated Plasmas*

Wednesday, November 5, 2003, 2:40 pm, Room 314

Session: Mechanisms in Plasma-Surface Interactions
Presenter: C. Muratore, Naval Research Laboratory
Authors: C. Muratore, Naval Research Laboratory
D. Leonhardt, Naval Research Laboratory
S.G. Walton, Naval Research Laboratory
D.D. Blackwell, Naval Research Laboratory
R.F. Fernsler, Naval Research Laboratory
R.A. Meger, Naval Research Laboratory
Correspondent: Click to Email
A molecular gas based electron beam generated plasma provides a significantly higher atomic ion flux than molecular ion flux. Additionally, the well-defined geometry of the electron beam gives rise to a high spatial dependency of the plasma specie flux due to gas phase reactions between the beam edge and surface to be modified. To investigate the utility of the unique features associated with electron beam generated plasmas for materials processes, planar electron beams were used for plasma assisted nitriding and reactive sputter deposition. Stainless steel and other metals were exposed to electron beam generated plasmas containing mixtures of nitrogen and other gases at appropriate treatment temperatures to produce nitrided surface layers. The activation energy for nitriding was determined for stainless steel and other metals, and found to be lower than values associated with other plasma assisted nitriding processes. Thin films were reactively sputtered at equivalent total ion fluxes with variations in only plasma chemistry (e.g., N@super +@/N@sub 2@@super +@ flux ratios). All materials were characterized using standard techniques including atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffractrometry, electron microscopy and nanoindentation. Observed trends in microstructural features and materials properties correlate well to the measured plasma characteristics. @FootnoteText@ @footnote *@This work is supported by the Office of Naval Research. Muratore, C., NRL/ASEE Postdoctoral Research Fellow; Blackwell, D.D., SFA Inc., Largo, MD 20744.