CHARACTERIZATION OF HYDROXYAPATITE FILM WITH MIXED INTERFACE BY AR-BEAM-ENHANCED DEPOSITION( ION)

Ar+ ion beam enhanced deposition (IBED) was used to produce a hydroxya patite (HA) film on polished titanium substrates. In this study, the H A ceramic target was sputtered by an argon-ion beam with an energy of 1.5 KeV, and the sputtered film was intermittently bombarded by energe tic argon-ions at 60 KeV. An effective Ca-Ti mixed layer produced by t he energetic argon-ion bombardment was confirmed by using Auger electr on spectroscopy. The characteristics of the deposited films were evalu ated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron s pectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. XRD analysis revealed that the as-deposited film was a morphous, and a hydroxyapatite-type structure was obtained from the po st-heat treatment of the deposited films. SEM observations showed that no distinct difference in surface morphology was found between the as -deposited and heat-treated samples for Ar+ IBED films, suggesting a s trongly bonded HA film on the titanium substrate. In comparison with t he HA target, some chemistry alterations were brought about in the dep osited films, such as the incorporation of CO3, the loss of the OH gro ups and some distortion of the phosphate lattice. (C) 1997 Elsevier Sc ience Limited. All rights reserved.