Surface hardening of stainless steel by runaway electronspreionized diffuse discharge in air atmosphere

In this paper we present microhardness measurements of stainless steel surface treated by diffuse discharge in air atmosphere. The cleaning from carbon in comparison to the initial sample was observed at a depth exceeding 20 nm. The oxygen concentration was also increased in comparison to that in the initial sample at a depth of up to about 50 nm. Comparative analysis shows that after treatment the microhardness of stainless steel surface increased in 2 times due to interaction of near-surface layers with product of plasma chemical reactions produced in diffuse discharge