Wear performance of Ti-based alloy coatings on 316L SS fabricated with the sputtering method: Relevance to biomedical implants

BACKGROUND: This investigation was conducted to encapsulate 316L SS with a Ti-based alloy coating. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to fabricate a coating using TiN, TiO2, and TiCoCr powders on 316L SS through the physical vapor deposition (PVD) sputtering process. METHODS: The powders were consecutively coated on 316L SS through the PVD sputtering process with coating durations of 30, 60, and 90 min. Further microhardness, surface roughness, microabrasion, and adhesion strength tests were also carried out. RESULTS: A 60% improvement in abrasion resistance was observed in TiCoCr-coated samples compared to the uncoated substrate. The X-ray diffraction results confirmed the optimal formation of Ti alloy coatings with corresponding orientation over the SS substrates. Moreover, TiCoCr with a 90 min coating duration had much better surface characteristics than TiO2 and TiN. CONCLUSION: The 90 min coating duration should be optimal for coating in steel for bio-implants.