Amorphous alloys of ion-implanted Fe-Ti-C

The implantation of Ti and C into Fe has previously been shown to produce a ternary amorphous phase which requires both Ti and C for its stabilization when the concentrations of either element are less than or equal to 20 at.%. More recently, depth profiling of Ti and C in Fe has been combined with ion channeling and TEM to deduce concentration boundaries of the amorphous phase. The boundaries, in terms of nucleation and stability of phases in the ternary Fe-Ti-C phase diagram, are discussed. Such examination is warranted by both the need for a fundamental understanding of which phases form in ion implanted alloys, as well as the practical application of Ti + C implantation to reduce friction and wear of steels. All results discussed were obtained with room temperature implantation