Effect of ion implantation on the chemical composition and structure of surface layers of heat-resistant alloys

We present a critical analysis of literature data devoted to the effect of ion implantation on the physicochemical state of surface layers of heat-resistant materials. We pay special attention to the problem of choosing the type of ions to be implanted, the bombardment conditions, and the finishing heat treatment with the goal of achieving the optimal level of operating properties. We show that for complex heterogeneous systems, the optimal treatment conditions can be estimated by methods of local equilibrium thermodynamics, chemical kinetics, and the theory of interaction of fast ions with solids using the basic principles of bulk alloying of heat-resistant alloys. We consider the characteristics features of continuous and pulsed implantation in heat-resistant materials. We formulate the requirements for techniques for investigating the chemical composition and the structural phase state of the near-surface regions of the bombarded targets. Analysis of the literature data on the effect of the bombardment conditions on the structure of the metals has shown that the data are ambiguous, that different authors use different terminology, and that the question of the phenomenology of the long-range effect is under dispute.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 5, pp. 72–91, May, 1994.