Energetic beams of mixed metal and gaseous ion species can be generated with a vacuum arc ion source by adding gas to the arc discharge region. This could be an important tool for ion implantation research by providing a method for forming buried layers of mixed composition such as e.g. metal oxides and nitrides. In work to date, we have formed a number of mixed metal-gas ion beams including Ti+N, Pt+N, Al+O, and Zr+O. The particle current fractions of the metal-gas ion components in the beam ranged from 100% metallic to about 80% gaseous, depending on operational parameters. We have used this new variant of the vacuum arc ion source to carry out some exploratory studies of the effect of Al+O and Zr+O co-implantation on tribology of stainless steel. Here we describe the ion source modifications, species and charge state of the hybrid beams produced, and results of preliminary studies of surface modification of stainless steel by co-implantation of mixed Al/O or Zr/O ion beams. 5 figs, 21 refs
