Mechanism study of laser implant-deposition of Si and its application to surface modification of stainless steel 304

Simultaneous doping and deposition of Si onto stainless-steel (SS) 304 by irradiation of KrF excimer laser beams in an ambient SiH4 gas is demonstrated. The specific process is referred to as laser implant-deposition (LID). Dependence of the total quantities of supplied Si atoms (dose) on the experimental conditions is examined to analyze the LID mechanism. The Si depth profiles in the LID samples are simulated by a liquid phase diffusion model, which show good agreement with the experimental results. The LID process is applied to improvement of physical, chemical, and optical properties of SUS304, such as corrosion, hardness, thermal stability, and color. (author)