Mechanical Properties of the Stellite 6 Cobalt Alloy Implanted with Nitrogen Ions

The effect of nitrogen ion implantation on Stellite 6 cobalt alloy was investigated. In this research, cobalt alloy was implanted with 65 keV nitrogen ions at the fluence of (1÷10)×10¹⁶ N⁺/cm². The distribution of implanted nitrogen ions and vacancies produced by them was calculated using the SRIM program. The surface morphology was examined and the elemental analysis was performed using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction. The wear tests were conducted with the use of the pin-on-disc method. The results demonstrate that implantation with nitrogen ions significantly reduces the friction factor and wear. The friction coefficient of the implanted sample at the fluence of 1×10¹⁷ N⁺/cm² increased to the values characteristic of an unimplanted sample after 5000 measurement cycles. The depth of the worn trace was about 2.0 μm. This implies that the thickness of the layer modified by the implantation process is ≈2.0 μm and exceeds the initial range of the implanted ions by an order of magnitude. This is referred to as a long-range implantation effect. The investigations have shown that the long-range effect is caused by movement of not only implanted nitrogen atoms but also carbon dopant atoms towards the friction zone. Diffusion of carbon atoms has been documented here for the first time. Furthermore, the increased content of oxygen atoms on the track bottom indicates a dominant oxidative wear of the Stellite samples after nitrogen implantation with the energy 65 keV and the fluences of 5×10¹⁶ and 10¹⁷ N⁺/cm².