title: Silicon nitride coating on titanium to enable titanium-ceramic bonding.
abstract: Failures that occur in titanium-ceramic restorations are of concern to clinicians. The formation of poorly adhering oxide on titanium at dental porcelain sintering temperatures causes adherence problems between titanium and porcelain, which is the main limiting factor in the fabrication of titanium-ceramic restorations. To overcome this problem a 1-microm thick Si3N4 coating was applied to a titanium surface using a plasma-immersion implantation and deposition method. Such a coating serves as an oxygen diffusion barrier on titanium during the porcelain firings. The protective coating was characterized in the as-deposited condition and after thermal cycling. Cross sections of Ti/Si3N4-porcelain interface regions were examined by various electron microscopy methods and by energy dispersive analysis of X-rays to study the Si3N4 film's effectiveness in preventing titanium oxidation and in forming a bond with porcelain. The experiments have shown that this Si3N4 coating enables significant improvement in Ti-ceramic bonding.
authors.affiliation: Department of Restorative Dentistry, Case Western Reserve University School of Dentistry, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA. rxw26@po.cwru.edu
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Welsch
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Monteiro
mesh_terms: D003776:Dental Porcelain / Q000737:chemistry*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D017655:Silicon Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D017655:Silicon Compounds; D003776:Dental Porcelain; D014025:Titanium; C032734:silicon nitride