Increased glassy carbon wear resistance by ion implantation

Central zones of polished slices of glassy carbon have been implanted with 2 MeV He ions at a beam current of 6 μA cm-?2. Abrasive wear tests were carried out using an automatic polishing machine. Improved wear resistance in the implanted areas is revealed in interferograms which show the implanted zone as a plateau above the surrounding unimplanted material. An explanation is offered for the increase in wear resistance in terms of structural change due to electronic loss mechanisms. (author)