Surface nanostructural modifications of Ti implanted by N+ ions as a function of energy

The surface modification of titanium foil/sheet samples (0.5?mm thickness) implanted by nitrogen ions of different energy and fluence of 1?×?10^18?N^+?cm^?2 was studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy and secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). XRD patterns showed the development of titanium nitride with different compositions in the implanted samples, and the presence of different titanium compositions such as titanium oxides was also observed. AFM images at 16 and 20?keV showed the formation of grains, which were attributed to the initial sputtering of grain boundaries. The morphology of the surface changed at 25?keV showing granular structure with an almost uniform background and lowest surface roughness relative to lower and higher implantation energies. A correlation was obtained between all results for XRD, SIMS and AFM except the titanium nitride maximum intensity at 25?keV N⁺ implantation. In order to achieve more detailed information about the role of N⁺ energy in this kind of work it is proposed that a further investigation is needed on both N⁺ energy and substrate temperature as well as some theoretical studies.