Third-generation plasma immersion ion implanter for biomedical materials and research

Abstract

A third generation plasma immersion ion implanter dedicated to biomedical materials and research has been designed and constructed. The distinct improvement over first and second generation multipurpose plasma immersion ion implantation equipment is that hybrid and combination techniques utilizing metal and gas plasmas, sputter deposition, and ion beam enhanced deposition can be effectively conducted in the same machine. The machine consists of four sets of high-efficiency metal arc plasma sources with magnetic filters, a custom designed high voltage modulator for operation up to 60 kV, a separate high-frequency, low-voltage power supply for hybrid treatment processes, special rotating sample stage for samples with an irregular shape, and other advanced features. The machine has been installed at Southwest Jiaotong University and operated reliably for 6 months. This article describes the design principles and performances of the machine as well as pertinent biomedical applications.

Surface modification of Ti by an Ar‐O mixture dc plasma

“…Figure 3 shows the microhardness at different loads and different temperatures of the samples. The hardness is not independent of the load but shows a high value at the The values in Figure 3 are comparable to those in the current literature [5,10]. Average roughness Ra values increased from 135 nm in the untreated sample to 140 nm upon oxidation at 500 °C, to 160 nm at 550 °C and to 700 nm at 650 °C.…”

Ag and Ag/N2 plasma modification of polyethylene for the enhancement of antibacterial properties and cell growth/proliferation

“…Low-density polyethylene samples with dimensions of 2 cm  2 cm  0.2 cm were inserted into a plasma immersion ion implanter equipped with a silver cathodic arc plasma source [12,13]. The arc was ignited using a pulse duration of 300 ls, with a repetition rate of 30 Hz and an arc current of 1 A.…”

“…From an industrial prospective, suitable surface modification can transform inexpensive synthetic polymers into biomedical products with high added values [9,10]. Plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) has been used to modify the surface of polymeric materials [11][12][13][14]. In this work, PE is plasma implanted with Ag in an attempt to enhance both the biocompatibility and the antibacterial properties.…”

Mechanical and biological characteristics of diamond-like carbon coated poly aryl-ether-ether-ketone

“…The surface properties of biomaterials can be modified [16e19], and plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition (PIII&D) is particularly useful as a surface modification technique due to its simple operation and non-light-of-sight characteristics which bode well for biomedical implants with a complex shape [20,21]. Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films which have been demonstrated to be biocompatible both in vitro [22,23] and in vivo [24] possess many other desirable properties including excellent hardness, high stability, favorable tribological properties, and so on [25].…”