Abstract

Ion beam processing has for several years been well established in the semiconductor industry. In recent years ion implantation of tool steels, ceramics and even plastics has gained increasing industrial awareness. The development of ion implantation to a commercially viable surface treatment of tools and spare parts working in production type environments is very dependent on technical merits, economic considerations, competing processes and highly individual barriers to acceptance for each particular application. Some examples of this will be discussed. The development of the process is very closely linked with the development of high current accelerators and their ability to efficiently manipulate the samples being treated, or to make sample manipulation superfluous by using special beam systems like the PSII. Furthermore, the ability to produce high beam currents (mA) of a wide variety of ions is crucial. Previously, it was broadly accerted that ion implantation of tools on a commercial basis generally had to be limited to nitrogen implantation. The development of implanters which can produce high beam currents of ions like B+, C+, Ti+, Cr+ and others is rapidly changing this situation, and today an increasing number of commercial implantations are performed with these ions although nitrogen is still successfully used in the majority of commercial implantations. All in all, the recent development of equipment makes it possible to a higher extent than before to tailor the implantation to a specific situation. The emerging new possibilities in this direction will be discussed, and a broad selection of practical examples of ion implantation at standard low temperatures of tools and spare parts will be given. Furthermore, very interesting results have been obtained recently by implanting nitrogen at elevated temperatures, which yields a relatively deep penetration of the implanted ions. Besides various examples of direct ion implantation, the very cost-effective variation based on ion bombardment of the sample surfaces in a controlled atmosphere of oil vapour will be discussed and compared to recent investigations of high dose carbon implantations. Direct nitrogen implantation and implantation combined with nitriding of aluminium have both shown interesting tribological potential. Other and relatively now practical examples of ion implantation used for changing the tribological and other surface characteristics of ceramics and plastics will also be discussed.

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