Characterization of hydroxyapatite film with mixed interface by Ar+ ion beam enhanced deposition

Ar+ ion beam enhanced deposition (IBED) was used to produce a hydroxyapatite (HA) film on polished titanium substrates. In this study, the HA ceramic target was sputtered by an argon-ion beam with an energy of 1.5 KeV, and the sputtered film was intermittently bombarded by energetic argon-ions at 60 KeV. An effective Ca-Ti mixed layer produced by the energetic argon-ion bombardment was confirmed by using Auger electron spectroscopy. The characteristics of the deposited films were evaluated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. XRD analysis revealed that the as-deposited film was amorphous, and a hydroxyapatite-type structure was obtained from the post-heat treatment of the deposited films. SEM observations showed that no distinct difference in surface morphology was found between the as-deposited and heat-treated samples for Ar+ IBED films, suggesting a strongly bonded HA film on the titanium substrate. In comparison with the HA target, some chemistry alterations were brought about in the deposited films, such as the incorporation of CO3, the loss of the OH groups and some distortion of the phosphate lattice.