Tribological properties of nitrogen ion implanted steel

► Nitrogen ions (N+) with three different doses were implanted on the AISI 304 LN steel samples under high vacuum at room temperature. ► Dose dependent morphological and structural changes were observed in the specimen. ► Structural changes were found to be triggered by irradiation induced surface segregation of carbon. ► Formation of amorphous carbon was detected using micro-Raman spectroscopy. ► Nano-indentation hardness was found to increase with N+ ion dose. Frictional force was found to decrease with increase in N+ ion dose and a minimum value of 0.078 N was obtained at higher doses.