In this paper the processes occurring at the plasma–cathode interface (carbon absorption and sputtering) which are responsible for the structure of the compound layer (CL) are discussed in conjunction with the ternary Fe–N–C phase diagram. The influence of the gas composition, including oxygen, on the development of the CL is also investigated. Based on the mechanisms of plasma nitrocarburising described in this paper a technique to produce CLs with a structure close to epsilon monophase was developed and applied to plain carbon steels.
KölbelJ.: ‘Die Nitridschichtbildung bei der Glimmentladung Forschungsbericht des Landes NRW’, no. 155;1965, Köln, Opladen; Westdeutscher Verlag.
2.
KölbelJ.: ‘The production of iron nitrides by means of reactive cathode sputtering and an investigation of their properties’, Unpublished report from the Department of Physics of the Research Institute of the ‘Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Glimmentladungsforschung e. V.’, 1966.
3.
LampeT., EisenbergS. and LaudienG.: Surf Eng., 1993,9, (1), 69.
4.
HudisM.: J. Appl Phys., 1973, 44, 1489
5.
TibbettsG. G.: J. Appl. Phys., 1974, 45, 5072
6.
ArzamasowB. N.: Proc. 5th Int. Conf. on ‘Heat treatment of materials’, Budapest, Hungary, October 1986, International Federation for the Heat Treatment of Materials, 1309.
7.
SzaboA. and WilhelmiH.: Haerterei Tech. Mitt., 1984, 39, p. 148.
8.
XuB. Z. and ZhangY. Z.: Surf Eng., 1987, 3, (3), 226
9.
RolinskiE. and KarpinskiT.: ‘Some aspects of ion nitriding metalurgy’, Institut fur Werkstoffwissenschaften, Technical University of Warsaw, Poland, 1982.
10.
WellsA. and BellT.: Heat Treat. Met., 1983, 2, 39.
11.
SomersM. A. J. and MittemeijerE. J.: Surf Eng., 1987,3, (2), 123.
12.
WahlG.: Heat Treat. Met., 1995, 3, 65.
13.
SlyckeJ., SprogeL. and AgrenJ.: Scand. J. Metall, 1988, 17, 122.
14.
SlyckeJ. and SprogeL.: Surf Eng., 1989, 5, (2), 125.
15.
BellT., SunY. and SuhadiA.: ‘Environmental and technical aspects of plasma nitrocarburising’, Vacuum, 2000, 59, 14–23.
16.
JeonE.-K., ParkI. M. and LeeI.: ‘Plasma post-oxidation of nitrocarburized SUM 24L steel’, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2007, A449—A451, 868–871.
17.
StoicaV. A., StoicaA. D. and RusetC.: Rom. Rep. Phys., 1997,49, (3-4), 273–282.
18.
RolinskiE. and SharpG.: J. Mater. Eng. Perform., 2001, 10, (4), 444–448.
19.
RusetC., CiucaS. and GrigoreE.: Surf Coat. Technot, 2003, 174-175, 1201–1205.
20.
BellT.: ‘Gaseous and plasma nitrocarburising’, in ‘ASM metals handbook’, Vol. 4, ‘Heat treating’, 425; 1991, Materials Park, OH, ASM International.
21.
StainesA. M.: Heat Treat. Met., 1990, 4, 85.
22.
HadfieldJ.: ‘An investigation of the layers produced by plasma nitrocarburising’, MSc thesis, University of Birmingham, AL, USA, 1986.
23.
RieK.-T. and LampeT.: in ‘Heat treatment’84’, 33.1; 1984, London, The Metals Society.
24.
RusetC., BloyceA. and BellT.: Heat Treat. Met., 1995, 4, 95.
25.
RieK.-T. and SchnatbaumF.: Proc. 2nd Int. Conf. on ‘Plasma surface engineering’, Garmish-Partenkirchen, Germany, September1990, Elsevier Science Ltd, 448.
26.
BurdeseA.: in ‘Heat treatment’84’, 32.1; 1984, London, The Metals Society.
27.
HarumanE., BellT. and SunY.: Surf Eng., 1992, 8, (4), 275.
RusetC., BloyceA. and BellT.: Proc. Int. 10th Cong. on ‘Heat treatment and surface engineering’, September1996, Brighton, UK, International Federation for Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering, 150–168.
RusetC., StoicaV., JanosiS., KoloszvaryZ., BloyceA. and BellT.: Proc. 11th Cong. on ‘Heat treatment and surface engineering’, Florence, Italy, October1998, International Federation for Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering, 271–279.
