Influence of crystal orientation and ion bombardment on the nitrogen diffusivity in single-crystalline austenitic stainless steel

Abstract

The nitrogen diffusivity in single-crystalline AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel (ASS) during ion nitriding has been investigated at different crystal orientations ((001), (110), (111)) under variations of ion flux (0.3–0.7 mA cm−2), ion energy (0.5–1.2 keV), and temperature (370–430 °C). The nitrogen depth profiles obtained from nuclear reaction analysis are in excellent agreement with fits using the model of diffusion under the influence of traps, from which diffusion coefficients were extracted. At fixed ion energy and flux, the diffusivity varies by a factor up to 2.5 at different crystal orientations. At (100) orientation, it increases linearly with increasing ion flux or energy. The findings are discussed on the basis of atomistic mechanisms of interstitial diffusion, potential lattice distortions, local decomposition, and ion-induced lattice vibrational excitations.