A novel technique called plasma-based low-energy ion
implantation (PBLEII) was developed by combining the technical advantages
of the two well-developed techniques, the
conventional plasma-based ion
implantation (PBII) and the low energy ion beam implantation (IBI). The strengths of the new technique are the low ion-energy and the elimination of line-of-sight restrictions. PBLEII technique includes two kinds of processes; one is the plasma source ion nitriding /carburizing (PS I N /PS I C ); the other is the plasma source low energy ion en hanced deposition (PSLEIED) of thin films. The energies required for ion implantation are in the range of 0. 4 to 3 keV, which is close to the energy range in the conventional plasma thermcr-difussion. The processing temperatures can be lowered to 200~500°Ｃ, which are the upper and the lower temperature limits of the conventional ion beam implantation and the plasma thermo-diffusion respectively. In addition, optimization and control of the PBLEII process parameters have been realized experimentally. In the case of the edified ferrous materials,many projects involving the physical, chemical and mechanical properties as well as metallograhical theories have been extensively studied. The results of these studies show that PBLEII works well in metallic surface modification and that it has wide potential applications in industries.