| 1. |
- Pettersson, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Mechanical and tribological behavior of silicon nitride and silicon carbon nitride coatings for total joint replacements
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of The Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials. - : Elsevier BV. - 1751-6161 .- 1878-0180. ; 25, s. 41-47
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Total joint replacements currently have relatively high success rates at 10-15 years; however, increasing ageing and an active population places higher demands on the longevity of the implants. A wear resistant configuration with wear particles that resorb in vivo can potentially increase the lifetime of an implant. In this study, silicon nitride (SixNy) and silicon carbon nitride (SixCyNz) coatings were produced for this purpose using reactive high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS). The coatings are intended for hard bearing surfaces on implants. Hardness and elastic modulus of the coatings were evaluated by nanoindentation, cohesive, and adhesive properties were assessed by micro-scratching and the tribological performance was investigated in a ball-on-disc setup run in a serum solution. The majority of the SixNy coatings showed a hardness close to that of sintered silicon nitride (similar to 18 GPa), and an elastic modulus close to that of cobalt chromium (similar to 200 GPa). Furthermore, all except one of the SixNy coatings offered a wear resistance similar to that of bulk silicon nitride and significantly higher than that of cobalt chromium. In contrast, the SixCyNz coatings did not show as high level of wear resistance.
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| 2. |
- Pettersson, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Structure and composition of silicon nitride and silicon carbon nitridecoatings for joint replacements
- 2013
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Ingår i: Surface & Coatings Technology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0257-8972 .- 1879-3347. ; 235, s. 827-834
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- SiNx and SiCxNy coatings were fabricated with high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS). The coatings microstructure, growth pattern, surface morphology, composition, and bonding structure were investigated by AFM, SEM, GIXRD, TEM, EDS as well as XPS, and related to the deposition parameters target powers and substrate temperature. Cross-sections of SiCxNy coatings showed either dense and laminar, or columnar structures. These coatings varied in roughness (Ra between 0.2 and 3.8 nm) and contained up to 35 at.% C. All coatings were substoichiometric (with an N/Si ratio from 0.27 to 0.65) and contained incorporated particles (so called droplets). The SiNx coatings, in particular those deposited at the lower power on the silicon target, demonstrated a dense microstructure and low surface roughness (Ra between 0.2 and 0.3 nm). They were dominated by an (X-ray) amorphous structure and consisted mainly of Si–N bonds. The usefulness of these coatings is discussed for bearing surfaces for hip joint arthroplasty in order to prolong their life-time. The long-term aim is to obtain a coating that reduces wear and metal ion release, that is biocompatible, and with wear debris that can dissolve in vivo.
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| 3. |
- Schmidt, Susann, 1981-
(författare)
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Carbon Nitride and Carbon Fluoride Thin Films Prepared by HiPIMS
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The present thesis focuses on carbon based thin films prepared by high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) and direct current magnetron sputtering (DCMS). Carbon nitride (CNx: 0 < x < 0.20) as well as carbon fluoride (CFx: 0.16 < x < 0.35) thin films were synthesized in an industrial deposition chamber by reactive magnetron sputtering of graphite in Ne/N2, Ar/N2, Kr/N2, Ar/CF4, and Ar/C4F8 ambients. In order to increase the understanding of the deposition processes of C in the corresponding reactive gas mixture plasmas, ion mass spectroscopy was carried out. A detailed evaluation of target current and target voltage waveforms was performed when graphite was sputtered in HiPIMS mode. First principle calculations targeting the growth of CFx thin films revealed most probable film forming species as well as CFx film structure defining defects. In order to set different process parameters into relation with thin film properties, the synthesized carbon based thin films were characterized with regards to their chemical composition, chemical bonding, and microstructure. A further aspect was the thin film characterization for possible applications. For this, mainly nanoindentation and contact angle measurements were performed. Theoretical calculations and the results from the characterization of the deposition processes were successfully related to the thin film properties.The reactive graphite/N2/inert gas HiPIMS discharge yielded high ion energies as well as elevated C+ and N+ abundances. Under such conditions, amorphous CNx thin films with hardnesses of up to 40 GPa were deposited. Elastic, fullerene like CNx thin films, on the other hand, were deposited at increased substrate temperatures in HiPIMS discharges exhibiting moderate ion energies. Here, a pulse assisted chemical sputtering at the target and the substrate was found to support the formation of a fullerene-like microstructure.CFx thin films were found to have surface energies equivalent to super-hydrophobic materials for x > 0.26 while such films were polymeric in nature accounting for hardnesses below 1 GPa. Whereas, an amorphous structure for carbon-based films with fluorine contents ranging between 16 % and 23 % was observed. For those films, the hardness increased with decreasing fluorine content and ranged between 16 GPa and 4 GPa. The HiPIMS process in fluorinecontaining atmosphere was found to be a powerful tool in order to change the surface properties of carbon based thin films.
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| 4. |
- Schmidt, Susann, et al.
(författare)
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Influence of inert gases on the reactive high power pulsed magnetron sputtering process of carbon-nitride thin films
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology. A. Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films. - : American Vacuum Society. - 0734-2101 .- 1520-8559. ; 31:1, s. 011503-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The influence of inert gases (Ne, Ar, Kr) on the sputter process of carbon and carbon-nitride (CNx) thin films was studied using reactive high power pulsed magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS). Thin solid films were synthesized in an industrial deposition chamber from a graphite target. The peak target current during HiPIMS processing was found to decrease with increasing inert gas mass. Time averaged and time resolved ion mass spectroscopy showed that the addition of nitrogen, as reactive gas, resulted in less energetic ion species for processes employing Ne, whereas the opposite was noticed when Ar or Kr were employed as inert gas. Processes in nonreactive ambient showed generally lower total ion fluxes for the three different inert gases. As soon as N-2 was introduced into the process, the deposition rates for Ne and Ar-containing processes increased significantly. The reactive Kr-process, in contrast, showed slightly lower deposition rates than the nonreactive. The resulting thin films were characterized regarding their bonding and microstructure by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Reactively deposited CNx thin films in Ar and Kr ambient exhibited an ordering toward a fullerene-like structure, whereas carbon and CNx films deposited in Ne atmosphere were found to be amorphous. This is attributed to an elevated amount of highly energetic particles observed during ion mass spectrometry and indicated by high peak target currents in Ne-containing processes. These results are discussed with respect to the current understanding of the structural evolution of a-C and CNx thin films.
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| 5. |
- Schmidt, Susann, et al.
(författare)
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Reactive high power impulse magnetron sputtering of CFx thin films in mixed Ar/C4F4 and Ar/C4F8 discharges
- 2013
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Ingår i: Thin Solid Films. - : Elsevier. - 0040-6090 .- 1879-2731. ; 542, s. 21-30
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The reactive high power impulse magnetron sputtering processes of carbon in argon/tetrafluoromethane (CF4) and argon/octafluorocyclobutane (c-C4F8) have been characterized. Amorphous carbon fluoride (CFx) films were synthesized at deposition pressure and substrate temperature of 400 mPa and 110 degrees C, respectively. The CFx film composition was controlled in the range of 0.15 andlt; x andlt; 0.35 by varying the partial pressure of the F-containing gases from 0 mPa to 110 mPa. The reactive plasma was studied employing time averaged positive ion mass spectrometry and the resulting thin films were characterized regarding their composition, chemical bonding and microstructure as well as mechanical properties by elastic recoil detection analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, nanoindentation, and water droplet contact angle measurements, respectively. The experimental results were compared to results obtained by first-principles calculations based on density functional theory. The modeling of the most abundant precursor fragment from the dissociation of CF4 and C4F8 provided their relative stability, abundance, and reactivity, thus permitting to evaluate the role of each precursor during film growth. Positive ion mass spectrometry of both fluorine plasmas shows an abundance of CF+, C+, CF2+, and CF3+ (in this order) as corroborated by first-principles calculations. Only CF3+ exceeded the Ar+ signal in a CF4 plasma. Two deposition regimes are found depending on the partial pressure of the fluorine-containing reactive gas, where films with fluorine contents below 24 at.% exhibit a graphitic nature, whereas a polymeric structure applies to films with fluorine contents exceeding 27 at.%. Moreover, abundant precursors in the plasma are correlated to the mechanical response of the different CFx thin films. The decreasing hardness with increasing fluorine content can be attributed to the abundance of CF3+ precursor species, weakening the carbon matrix.
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