Analysis of the titanium ions concentration implanted in low alloy steel

Abstract

Abstract In the surface modification processes obtained by high voltage electric discharges and cathodic arc at low pressures its of great interest to estimate the concentration of ions that are implanted on the surfaces of metallic substrates. The employment of computational tools to estimate the concentrations of implanted ions on the surface of materials as a function of the depth allows to optimize the experimental processes reducing costs and time. In the present research, a software that simulates the mobility, stopping and range of ions in matter by means of the Monte Carlo method is used, in order to obtain the ratio between the concentration and the dose of ions regarding to depth in a titanium ion implantation process on the surface of chromium molybdenum low alloy carbon steel; then, using experimental parameters, the implantation dose is calculated and an estimated profile of ion concentration is obtained as a function of the depth. The results showed that titanium ions implanted at 10 KV for 5 minutes and 10 minutes had projected ion ranges until depths of 250 Å and the highest concentration is located around 50 Å; the concentration of the implanted ions increases with the exposure time of the surface because the implantation dose is proportional to the discharge time. Furthermore, it is observed that the location of the highest concentration region and the range of the implanted ions is invariant.