Aluminum ion implantation under backfilling oxygen

High dose ion implantation (F greater than or equal to 2 X 10(18) ions/cm(2)) of 40 keV Al ions into stainless steel (AISI 321) under increased partial pressure of oxygen and oxygen compounds (P greater than or equal to 1 X 10(-8) hPa O-2, CO2, N2O) leads to the formation of a homogenous Al film on the sample surface dire to a reduced self-sputtering yield of Al. The depth distribution of the implanted aluminum and the thickness of the Al film grown up on the sample were measured using the resonant nuclear reaction Al-27(p, gamma)Si-28 at 992 keV and by the (alpha, alpha) elastic backscattering at 3.05 MeV. The concentrations of the low-Z impurity oxygen and carbon were determined with the extremely strong resonances of the (alpha, alpha) elastic scattering under backward angles at 7.6 MeV for O-16 and at 5.75 MeV for C-12. Furthermore, the properties of the formed Al film were investigated by SEM, surface profile and microhardness measurements. The self-sputtering yield of Al was measured under normal vacuum conditions and under increased O-2 partial pressure, and the results were compared with the data obtained from calculations using the computer code T-DYN.