Rutherford backscattering analysis of nitrogen implants in Australian steels and associated wear properties

A number of bright mild and nitriding Australian steel samples have been implanted with nitrogen using incident energies in the range 25 to 65 keV and nominal doses up to 1018 ions cm-2. Rutherford backscattering of 4He ions was used to depth/concentration profile the implant distribution. RBS is fast, non-destructive and convenient for this purpose but is generally thought to lack the necessary resolution for profiling lighter atom distributions. However, the data presented suggests that the method is satisfactory for the higher energy, higher dose implants generally employed in studies of wear enhancement