Heavy Metal Ion Implantation

Innovative solutions for advanced surface hardening and material integrity

Heavy metal ion implantation (HMII) is a surface treatment in which metal ions are accelerated to 600 km/s or .002c (the speed of light) and then implanted into a part, permanently altering its crystalline structure and greatly increasing its mechanical properties.

Heavy metal ion implantation improves parts by two mechanisms.

  • The addition of compressive stress to resist microcracking propagation and

  • The remaining interstitial ions to impede dislocations

Heavy metal ion implantation

generally sees part life improvements between

4x and 25x versus untreated parts

Heavy Metal Ion Implantation
results in ZERO dimensional change to the part being treated.

How HMII Works

In this process, metal ions are accelerated to approximately the speed of light (600km/s). Once accelerated, the ions collide with the part being implanted, embedding themselves up to a micron into its surface, dramatically changing the surface material composition and characteristics.

  • The impact of the ions onto the surface of the parts creates an effect analogous to shot peening but with a shot size of single atoms, allowing the process to be done with zero-dimensional change to the part.

  • This ionic peening puts compressive stresses on the microcracks in the material to prevent them from propagating by increasing the stress or energy required to deform or fracture the part.

  • The area of effect of this compressive locking is up to 100 microns.

HMII improves properties of metals, ceramics, and plastics.

Benefits

Improvements in Strength | Hardness | Friction Coefficient | Wear

Resistance | Corrosion | Impact | Fatigue | No Dimensional Change

Each elemental ion species implanted produces a different result.