A Study to the Surface Characteristics of RF Magnetron Sputtered Bioglass - and Calcium Phosphate Coatings

The RF magnetron sputter technique was used to deposit Bioglass (BG) and hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings onto titanium substrates. In the current study, the physico-chemical and dissolution properties of various deposited coatings were investigated. X-ray diffraction demonstrated that the as-sputtered coatings had an amorphous structure, a heattreatment for 2 hours at 600°C changed only the HA coating into a crystalline apatite structure. Dissolution experiments demonstrated that all the amorphous coatings dissolved during the incubation for 4 weeks in simulated body fluid, while all the heattreated sputter coatings were still maintained. In contrast with the HA heattreated sputter coatings all the bioglass containing sputter coatings showed the formation of a crystalline apatite phase. Scanning electron microscopical examination of the sputtered coatings demonstrated that on all the heattreated BG/HG sputter coating a thick CaP precipitate was formed, while on the BG sputter coating occasionally a globular precipitate was observed.