Titanium Nitride Deposition in Titanium Implant Alloys Produced by Powder Metallurgy

Abstract

Titanium nitride (TiN) is an extremely hard material, often used as a coating on titanium alloy, steel, carbide, and aluminum components to improve wear resistance. Electron Beam Physical Vapor Deposition (EB-PVD) is a form of deposition in which a target anode is bombarded with an electron beam given off by a charged tungsten filament under high vacuum, producing a thin film in a substrate. In this work are presented results of TiN deposition in targets and substrates of Ti (C.P.) and Ti-13Nb-13Zr obtained by powder metallurgy. Samples were produced by mixing of hydrided metallic powders followed by uniaxial and cold isostatic pressing with subsequent densification by sintering between 900°C up to 1400 °C, in vacuum. The deposition was carried out under nitrogen atmosphere. Sintered samples were characterized for phase composition, microstructure and microhardness by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Vickers indentation, respectively. It was shown that the samples were sintered to high densities and presented homogeneous microstructure, with ideal characteristics for an adequate deposition and adherence. The film layer presented a continuous structure with 15m.