Abstract
Tantalum is recognized to have better biocompatibility and osseointegrative properties than other more commonly used orthopedic grade alloys. There are several novel methods that tantalum or tantalum-titanium could be used to augment orthopedic implants. A tantalum or tantalum-titanium alloy at the bone/implant or modular component interfaces would substantially increase the longevity and performance of modular devices. Bonding a functional tantalum coating to a titanium orthopedic device is inherently difficult because of the small difference between the melting temperature of tantalum, 3017°C, and the boiling point of titanium, 3287°C. LASER powder deposition (LPD) is a fusion operation using an Nd:YAG to melt a small volume of substrate into which metal powder is sprayed achieving high temperature with a high solidification rate. LPD of Ti-Ta onto a Ti-6Al-4V substrate produced both a solid surface and structured coating with a pore size in the optimal 350–500 μm range.
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