The friction and wear properties of 304 and 15–5 PH stainless steels which were ion implanted with P and with P plus C have been examined and are compared with the properties of the same steels implanted with N and with Ti plus C. While benefits are obtained with the P and the P plus C implantation treatments, the N and the Ti plus C treatments give greater reductions in wear, which extend to more severe wear regimes; with Ti plus C, friction is also reduced. Transmission electron microscopy shows that the P and the P plus C implantations (with 20 to 30 at. pct metalloid concentrations) produce surface alloys with amorphous phases, as do Ti plus C treatments (approximately 20 at. pct each). The greater benefits obtained with the Ti plus C amorphous phase imply that this phase is mechanically superior to the amorphous phase with P plus C, even though the latter has been shown to have excellent mechanical properties when produced by melt quenching. Based on the above studies, Ti and C were selected for implantation into a 15–5 PH discriminator wheel of an electromechanical device for comparison with standard solid film lubrication (MoS2). In comparison to a solid film lubricated wheel, the implanted wheel (unlubricated) performed equally well with respect to time of operation, number of cycles, and tolerance control; in addition, the implanted wheel produced less debris. An alternative ion beam method was used to introduce high surface concentrations of Au for control of fretting corrosion and debris generation of a journal bearing in a different electromechanical device: a sputterdeposited Au film (50 nm) on 15–5 PH stainless steel was ion bombarded with 300 keV Xe-. This treated surface was compared with a sputtered Au film without ion beam treatment, with electrodeposited Au, and with a solid lubricating film. The ionmixed Au surface bearings had the least corrosion and debris.