The initial oxide state of powder is essential to the robust additive manufacturing of metal components using powder bed fusion processes. However, the variation of the powder surface oxide composition as a function of the atomizing medium is not clear. This work summarizes a detailed surface characterization of three 316L powders, produced using water atomization (WA), vacuum melting inert gas atomization (VIGA), and nitrogen atomization (GA). X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy analyses were combined to characterize the surface state of the powders. The results showed that the surface oxides consisted of a thin (~4 nm) iron oxide (Fe2O3) layer with particulate oxide phases rich in Cr, Mn, and Si, with a varying composition. XPS analysis combined with depth‐profiling showed that the VIGA powder had the lowest surface coverage of particulate compounds, followed by the GA powder, whereas the WA powder had the largest fraction of particulate surface oxides. The composition of the oxides was evaluated based on the XPS analysis of the oxide standards. Effects of Ar sputtering on the peak positions of the oxide standards were evaluated with the aim of providing an accurate analysis of the oxide characteristics at different etch depths.

中文翻译：

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雾化对增材制造用 316L 不锈钢粉末表面氧化物成分的影响

粉末的初始氧化物状态对于使用粉末床熔融工艺稳健增材制造金属部件至关重要。然而，粉末表面氧化物组成作为雾化介质的函数的变化尚不清楚。这项工作总结了使用水雾化 (WA)、真空熔化惰性气体雾化 (VIGA) 和氮气雾化 (GA) 生产的三种 316L 粉末的详细表面表征。X射线光电子能谱（XPS）和扫描电子显微镜分析相结合来表征粉末的表面状态。结果表明，表面氧化物由薄 (~4 nm) 氧化铁 (Fe2O3) 层组成，其中颗粒氧化物相富含 Cr、Mn 和 Si，成分不同。XPS 分析结合深度分析表明，VIGA 粉末的颗粒化合物表面覆盖率最低，其次是 GA 粉末，而 WA 粉末的颗粒表面氧化物含量最高。基于氧化物标准品的 XPS 分析评估氧化物的组成。评估 Ar 溅射对氧化物标准峰位置的影响，目的是提供不同蚀刻深度下氧化物特性的准确分析。