Ion-implantation and ion-beam-assisted deposition onto cemented tungsten carbide and syalon

Nitrogen ions were implanted at different doses and at different temperatures on cemented tungsten carbide (CTC) and syalon materials. It was observed that for CTC, a critical dose is required to get the improvement in wear resistance independent of the implantation temperature. High dose leads to amorphization unless the implantation temperature is kept higher than 550-degrees-C. Implanted syalon materials can be amorphized by N+ implantation with a dose greater than a critical value, which is an order of magnitude lower than that for CTC. Amorphization in syalon materials showed strong temperature dependence. Finally, following ion implantation an IBAD (ion beam assisted deposition) procedure was tried to obtain composite multilayer structures on CTC. Using such a method it is possible to obtain surfaces with the optimum friction and wear resistance properties.