Microstructural investigation of alumina implanted with 30Â keV nitrogen ions

Among ceramics, alumina is being widely used as biomaterials now these days. It is being used as hip joints, tooth roots etc. Ion implantation has been employed to modify its surface without changing it bulk properties. 30 keV nitrogen with varying ion dose ranging from 5 × 1015 ions/cm2 to 5 × 1017 ions/cm2 is implanted in alumina. Surface morphology has been studied with optical microscope and atomic force microscope (AFM). Improvement in brittleness has been observed with the increase in ion dose. Compound formation and changes in grain size have been studied using X-Ray diffraction (XRD). AlN compound formation is also observed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The change in the grain size is related with the nanohardness and Hall-Petch relationship is verified.