An Assessment of IBP Technologies, Trends and Applications. Sector Study.

The purpose of this NATIBO study was to assess the maturity, level of use, utility, and viability of ion beam processing IBP technologies for metal surface finishing applications. Over the past decade, ion implantation, the most visible IBP technology, has been able to find a technical and commercial niche improving the wear properties of medical devices such as titanium hip and knee joints. Ion implantation has also been widely used in the semiconductor industry sector for more than thirty years to provide precise control of semiconductor wafer manufacturing. However, IBP technologies have not been able to successfully penetrate other North American metal surface finishing markets despite successful demonstrations in many applications. The objectives of the study were 1 Identify the status of IBP technology development,2 Identify current and potential application areas, 3 Identify the benefits of IBP technologies, 4 Identify current defense and commercial activities related to IBP technology development and use, 5 Identify limitations and barriers to IBP technology use, and 6 Recommend actions for government and industry to fully capitalize on the potential of IBP technologies in the metal surface finishing industry sector. The IBP technologies investigated and analyzed in this study were 1 Mass analyzed ion implantation, the technique used in semiconductor manufacturing 2 Direct nitrogen ion implantation 3 Direct metal ion implantation 4 Plasma source ion implantation PSII and 5 Ion beam assisted deposition IBAD.