CALCIUM-PHOSPHATE COATINGS GROWN AT DIFFERENT SUBSTRATE TEMPERATURES BY PULSED ARF-LASER DEPOSITION

Due to their similarity with the mineral part of bone, calcium phospha te coatings, specially hydroxylapatite, are commonly used to enhance t he osteointegration of orthopaedical and dental titanium implants. To obtain more homogeneous and adherent coatings than the commercial ones produced by plasma spraying, pulsed ArF-laser deposition has been inv estigated. With this technique, hydroxylapatite sintered pellets have been ablated in water atmosphere at different substrate temperatures t o produce calcium phosphate coatings. The characterization of the obta ined films by profilometry, ellipsometry, Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy, XRD and SEM with EDX shows a strong dependence in the a mount of apatite structure on the substrate temperature used during th e deposition process. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A.