CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SURFACE OF BIO-CERAMIC THIN-FILMS

The biocompatibility and corrosion resistance of orthopaedic and denta l implants are determined by their material composition and surface mi crostructural properties such as surface roughness, grain size, etc. T hin films of bio-inert materials such as oxides of Ti, Al, Zr, and bio active materials such as hydroxy-apatite (Ca-10(PO4)(6)(OH)(2)), compo unds of calcium and phosphorous oxides are more attractive as bioceram ic films because of their biocompatibility being higher, and toxicity being lower than those of the other materials. In this study, we mainl y focused on characterization of the surface of bio-ceramics using ato mic force microscopy (AFM). These films having a thickness of about 50 0 nm, had been processed using ion-beam sputter deposition, and ion-be am-assisted sputter deposition methods. Investigation of the surface o f the films by AFM shows that irradiation with oxygen ions in the ener gy range of 3 keV increases the surface roughness. A detailed study of the grain size and roughness of several experimental cases of TiO2 th in films showed that the films contained columnar grains with mean siz e of about 100 X 100 nm(2) grown in the z direction with a height of a few nanometers.