Materials Processing Initiative: New Ion Implantation Technique for Improved Performance of Cutting Tools and Dies

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This grant is an award by the National Science Foundation under the Materials Processing Joint Initiative. The objective of the research is to study the effects of plasma source ion implantation on the microstructural, mechanical, and tribological properties of hard materials. The research emphasizes investigation of plasma physics scaling laws (for example, variation of plasma density, implantation energy, pulse length, and spatial uniformity of dose), characterization of the micro chemical composition and microstructure of the implanted materials (for example, electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray analysis, and Auger electron spectroscopy), characterization of the mechanical properties (for example, hardness), and tribological evaluation (for example, wear resistance, wear damage mechanisms, coefficient of friction). The program includes preparation of cutting tools for field testing in an industrial environment to determine the effectiveness of ion implantation in increasing the hardness and wear resistance of the materials for cutting tool applications. The research program represents an innovative and cost- effective approach to improving the wear resistance of materials via modification of the surface of the material using plasma source ion implantation. Ion implantation has been used routinely by the semiconductor industry to improve the electronic properties of integrated circuits. The implantation techniques and equipment used in the electronics industry is too expensive and impractical for scale-up for use on large area manufacturing of parts such as cutting tools. This program is to investigate the effectiveness of plasma source ion implantation for treating the surface of parts having large surface area and complex shapes. The effectiveness of modification of the hardness and wear resistance of metals, ceramics and polymers has been shown for small specimens, and this program will investigate the fundamental aspects of large area plasma sources.