Comparing of Microhardness of the Stellite 6 Cobalt Alloy Implanted with 175 keV Mn+ Ions and 120 keV N+ Ions

Nowadays, high-precision machines require lightweight materials with very high strength. Ion implantation is used to improve the mechanical strength of the material. A further paper presents the influence of manganese and nitrogen ion implantation on changes of microhardness of the surface layer of cobalt alloy. Samples were analyzed with the SEM-EDS Phenom ProX microscope. Microhardness was assessed with the Vickers method, and the loads of 1 gf (0.00981 N) and 5 gf (0.049 N) was applied using a FM-800 from Future-Tech microhardness meter. At a load of 1 gf, the penetration depth of the implanted specimens was reached not exceeding 0.5 um. At this depth, all samples showed an increase in microhardness compared to the unimplanted sample. The highest increase in microhardness was achieved after implantation of Mn ions with dose D=1∙1017 Mn+/cm2 and energy E=175 keV. The increased load on the indenter to 5 gf reduced the microhardness differences between implanted and unimplanted samples.