Investigation of the surface morphology of ion-bombarded biocompatible materials with a SEM and profilograph

Abstract

The surface morphology (topography and roughness) is a very important factor which affects the response of biological tissue to an implant material. The effect of an incident ion beam on surface morphology of various biocompatible materials was studied. All materials were bombarded by Ar+ ions at an applied voltage of 7 kV at various incident angles from 0 to 1.4 rad (0 to 80°) and at a beam current up to 0.1 mA. The surface topographies of ion-bombarded samples were examined with a Japan Electron Optics Laboratory, model JSM-35, scanning electron microscope. The roughness of the surface was calculated from the shape of a surface profile, which was recorded by a profilograph, the ME10 (supplied by VEB Carl Zeiss, Jena). © 1984 Chapman and Hall Ltd.