Excimer laser deposition of hydroxyapatite thin films.

We have demonstrated a new and simple in situ method to fabricate adherent and dense hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings at relatively low deposition temperatures (500-600 degrees C). Under optimum processing conditions, the HA coatings possess a nominal Ca:P ratio of 1.65 and exhibit a fully crystalline single-phase structure. This deposition technique is based on the application of a pulsed excimer laser (wavelength lambda = 248 nm, pulse duration tau = 25 x 10(-9) s) to ablate a dense stoichiometric HA target. The HA target was prepared by standard ceramic coprecipitation techniques followed by cold pressing and further sintering at 1200 degrees C in air. High substrate temperatures (> or = 600 degrees C) during film deposition led to phosphorus deficient coatings because of re-evaporation of phosphorus during the deposition process. The stabilization of various calcium and phosphorus phases in the film was controlled by a number of process parameters such as substrate temperature, chamber pressure and presence of water vapour in the chamber. This is particularly advantageous for production of HA coatings, since it is known that HA decomposes at high temperatures due to the uncertainty in the starting material stoichiometry. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques were employed to determine the structure-processing relationships. Qualitative scratch measurements were conducted to determine the adhesion strength of the films.