title: Mechanical and tribological behavior of silicon nitride and silicon carbon nitride coatings for total joint replacements.
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 (~18 GPa), and an elastic modulus close to that of cobalt chromium (~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.
authors.affiliation: Applied Materials Science, Department of Engineering Sciences, Uppsala University, Ångström Laboratory, 75121 Uppsala, Sweden. maria.pettersson@angstrom.uu.se
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pettersson
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tkachenko
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Berlind
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jacobson
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hultman
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Engqvist
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Persson
mesh_terms: D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D017276:Friction; D006244:Hardness; D007595:Joint Prosthesis; D008153:Lubrication; D008422:Materials Testing; D009570:Nitriles / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D017655:Silicon Compounds / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D013718:Tensile Strength
chemical_list: D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D009570:Nitriles; D017655:Silicon Compounds; C011206:cyanogen; C032734:silicon nitride