FUNCTIONAL ZrTaN COATINGS FOR ACETABULAR COMPONENT OF HIP JOINT ENDOPROSTHESIS

In the present research the structure and phase composition of PVD ZrTaN coatings on acetabular component of hip joint endoprosthesis have been investigated. Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with microanalysis (EDX), X-ray diffraction analysis were used to study the surface morphology, chemical composition and its distribution. Mechanical properties have been studied with the help of nanoindentation tests. The maximum hardness for nitride coatings ZrTaN was (27.5 ± 2) GPa and the elastic modulus comprised 388 GPa. According to XRD data only cubic zirconium nitride ZrN with a lattice parameter a = 4.589 Å was found. This phase is characterized by a moderate texture with an orientation (111). The grain size of the ZrN nitride is D = 25.9 nm at a level of micro-strains ε = 4.3·10-3. The surface is rather smooth with a very low amount of macroparticles from the cathode material. Such results indicated that ZrTaN coatings on titanium hip implants could be very perspective due to high mechanical properties and convenient surface morphology.