Surface hardening of SUS304 by irradiation with a KrF excimer laser in SiH4 gas ambient

Abstract

Surface hardening of SUS304 resulting from the process of doping and deposition of Si by irradiation of a KrF excimer laser beam in a SiH4 gas ambient is investigated, and variations of the surface hardness are examined for different numbers of laser pulses and the laser fluences. The hardening is due to Si incorporation in high concentration. The continuous distribution of Si atoms across the surface layer suggests that a very high adhesion strength of the deposited Si films can be formed. The specific process for surface modification is referred to as laser implant-deposition (LID).