Fabrication and characterization of bioactive glass coatings produced by the ion beam sputter deposition technique.

Ion beam sputtering and ion beam sputtering/mixing deposition techniques were used to produce thin bioactive glass coatings on titanium substrate. It was found that as-deposited coatings were amorphous. Scanning electron microscopical examination showed that the coatings had a uniform and dense structure and that fabrication parameters affected the surface morphology of the coatings. The surface Ca/P ratio of the coatings, which varied from 5.9 to 8.6 according to semi-quantitative EDX analyses, was correlated with the fabrication condition. Depth profiling of the coatings revealed four distinct zones: the top surface, the thin coating zone, the intermixed zone of coating and substrate, and the substrate. Scratch tests showed that the coatings adhered well to the substrate.