Cargando…

The Effect of Coating Density on Functional Properties of SiN(x) Coated Implants

Ceramic coatings may be applied onto metallic components of joint replacements for improved wear and corrosion resistance as well as enhanced biocompatibility, especially for metal-sensitive patients. Silicon nitride (SiN(x)) coatings have recently been developed for this purpose. To achieve a high...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Filho, Luimar Correa, Schmidt, Susann, López, Alejandro, Cogrel, Mathilde, Leifer, Klaus, Engqvist, Håkan, Högberg, Hans, Persson, Cecilia
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6829552/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31618981
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma12203370
Descripción
Sumario:Ceramic coatings may be applied onto metallic components of joint replacements for improved wear and corrosion resistance as well as enhanced biocompatibility, especially for metal-sensitive patients. Silicon nitride (SiN(x)) coatings have recently been developed for this purpose. To achieve a high coating density, necessary to secure a long-term performance, is however challenging, especially for sputter deposited SiN(x) coatings, since these coatings are insulating. This study investigates the time-dependent performance of sputter-deposited SiN(x) based coatings for joint applications. SiN(x) coatings with a thickness in the range of 4.3–6.0 µm were deposited by reactive high power impulse magnetron sputtering onto flat discs as well as hip heads made of CoCrMo. SiN(x) compositional analysis by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed N/Si ratios between 0.8 and 1.0. Immersion of the flat disks in fetal bovine serum solution over time as well as short-term wear tests against ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) discs showed that a high coating density is required to inhibit tribocorrosion. Coatings that performed best in terms of chemical stability were deposited using a higher target power and process heating.