Factors affecting the plasma ion implantation of metallic samples

Author

Sanja Gopalkrishna Kamath

Date of Award

5-1994

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Electrical Engineering

Major Professor

J. Reece Roth

Committee Members

Marshall Pace, R.A. Buchanan

Abstract

The UTK Plasma Science Laboratory has been engaged in a research program, under the sponsorship of the Army Research Office and the UTK Center for Materials Processing, to assess the effects of plasma ion implanted species on the corrosion resistance of common engineering materials. The UTK Microwave Plasma Facility (MPF) is a 206 liter steady-state, uniform plasma generated by a 2 kW of nonresonant 2.45 GHz microwave power. The electron number density of the nitrogen plasma was approximately n_e = 5 × 10₁₆ electrons/m₃, the electron kinetic temperature T_e = 10 eV, and the plasma potential V_p = 80 volts. Routine plasma ion implantation of 304L stainless steel has been done in the MPF. An enhanced pitting corrosion resistance was observed in the 304L stainless steel samples after plasma ion implantation. During this research a few factors affecting this plasma ion implantation emerged. They were the geometry of the samples, the passivation techniques used before the electrochemical testing of the sample for corrosion inhibition, and the implantation pulse repetition frequency. This thesis discusses these factors and the measures taken to overcome them to yield the desirable implantation results.

Recommended Citation

Kamath, Sanja Gopalkrishna, "Factors affecting the plasma ion implantation of metallic samples. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 1994.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/11577