Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2011
We have used excimer laser radiation to mix single layers of Ti directly on annealed substrates of 304 stainless steel. This process produces much thicker surface alloy layers and is much faster than ion mixing techniques. Liquid state diffusion results in mixed layers of the order of 1.0 μm thick from 0.5 μm Ti overlayers. In single pulse experiments, fluences of up to about 4 times melt threshold could be used before ablation occurred. The fluence in these experiments determines the melt duration and therefore the amount of mixing. In order to achieve greater mixing without ablation of the surface, multiple pulses at lower fluence were used. Profiles of laser mixed surface layers and microstructural characterization of the layers are presented.