Apatite Formation on Silicon Suboxide Film Prepared by Pulsed Metal Vacuum Arc Depositon

Abstract. In this paper, pulsed metal vacuum arc deposition technology was employed to fabricate SiOx film on Ti-6Al-4V substrates with the oxygen partial pressure at 0.2~0.5×10-2 Pa. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy were used to characterize the as-deposited SiOx film. Simulated body fluid (SBF) immersion tests were performed for the in vitro bioactivity evaluation of the as-deposite film. The results obtained from the scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared demonstrated the formation of apatite on the SiOx film after incubation in SBF solution. The bioactivity maybe related to the plenty of oxygen vacancies in the film, which are active and hydrolyze in the solution to form Si-OH groups. It is necessary to induce the formation of apatite. 1