NITROGEN DETERMINATION IN THE SURFACE OF NITRIDED STEEL USING PROTON INDUCED GAMMA-RAY EMISSION ANALYSIS

Ⅰ. INTRODUCTIONIt has been established for some time that introduction of nitrogen in the surface and near surface regions of metal alloys can make important modifications in surface properties of the alloys such as hardness, wear and friction, corrosion resistance and fatigue time. Proton induced gamma-ray emission (PIGE) analysis provides a useful method for direct determination of nitrogen concentration in the surface of nitrided samples and also for its quality test and the investigation of new nitriding technology.The aims of the present work are to study the optimum conditions of analysis