Characteristics of austenitic stainless steel nitrided in a hybrid glow discharge plasma

A nitriding process based on two distinct nitrogen glow discharge modes, with sample temperatures ranging from 380 0C to 480 0C, was employed to treat the surface of austenitic stainless steel (SS 304). The temperature is controlled exclusively by switching the operation conditions of the discharges. First mode of operation is the conventional one, named cathodic, which runs at higher pressure values (1 mbar) in comparison to the second mode, named anodic, which runs at the pressure range of 10-3 - 10-2 mbar. Cathodic mode is used to quickly heat the sample holder, by the high ion flux. On the...