CEMS-investigations of AISI M2 steel after nitrogen plasma immersion ion implantation

Abstract Plasma-immersion ion implantation (PIII) and high-current ion implantation (HCII) of nitrogen into M2 steel were carried out. The formation of a multilayer system consisting of a surface layer of austenite on top of e-Fe 3 N nitride precipitates was manifested in M2 steel after PIII. HCII forms a thick (more than 14 μm) layer with e-Fe 3 N precipitates. Apparently, the formation of the austenite layer after PIII is connected with a local tempering of the steel surface by the pulsed nitrogen ion beam.