Superior Corrosion Resistance of Ion Beam Deposited Iron Film

Abstract

Superior corrosion resistance was obtained for 56 Fe + -IBD (ion beam deposited) films on Si and Ge substrates. The iron films deposited at an ion energy of 50 eV showed the highest corrosion resistance in 0.001 M NaCl solution. The estimated current density at its corrosion potential was four orders of magnitude smaller, 10 -6 A/m 2 , than that of 2N-purity iron bulk materials. Ion bombardment induced formation of finely-grained polycrystalline structure, and coupled with its purifying action, these were considered to account for the superior corrosion resistance.