Influence of the scanning frequency on the surface topography of electron-beam modified Ti6Al4V alloy

Abstract In this work, the influence was investigated of the scanning frequency on the surface topography of electron-beam surface-modified Ti6Al4V alloy. In the conducted experiments, the electron beam was operated with an accelerating voltage of 60 kV and a beam current of 5 mA, while the sample motion speed was maintained at 10 mm/s. The electron-beam scanning geometry was linear, with the scanning frequency adjusted between 200 Hz and 1400 Hz. The phase composition of the surface-modified and unmodified samples was analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the surface topography was characterized through atomic force microscopy (AFM). Optical images of the specimens were captured using a Drawell MIT 300/500 optical microscope (Drawell, Chongqing, China). To determine the hardness of all samples at various stages of processing, we utilized a ZwickRoell Dura Scan 10/20 G5 hardness tester (ZwickRoell, Ulm, Germany) in Vickers hardness mode. The results obtained were discussed concerning the potential application of these materials in the field of modern biomedicine and implant manufacturing.