DEPOSITION OF DIAMOND-LIKE CARBON ON A TITANIUM BIOMEDICAL ALLOY

Much of the orthopedic community now believe that the long-term failur e of total hip and knee prostheses is directly or indirectly due to th e production of wear particles, particularly polyethylene wear particl es which are produced at the articulating interface between the metal component and the high molecular weight plastic component. Therefore, a friction and wear reducing coating on the metal component, which is also biocompatible, should reduce the production of the polyethylene w ear particles and dramatically extend hip-implant life. Diamondlike ca rbon (DLC), with its extreme smoothness, hardness, low coefficient of friction, and biocompatibility is an excellent candidate for such an a pplication. One of the key issues that may limit the utility of DLC in this application is the adhesion of this material to common biomedica l alloys. We will show that high adhesion strength between sputter-dep osited DLC and a silicon-coated titanium biomedical alloy can be easil y achieved.