Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) Technique to Prepare Biocompatible Thin Films

A Nd:YAG laser is employed to ablate different materials useful in the bio-medical field. The laser source operates in the IR (1064 nm), VIS (532 nm) and UV (355 nm) regions with a pulse duration of 3-9 ns, a pulse energy of 3-300 mJ, a spot size of 1 mm2 and a repetition rate of 1- 30 Hz. Target material of interest are Titanium, Carbon, Hydroxyapatite (HA) and Polyethylene (PE). Laser irradiation occurs in vacuum, where hot plasma is generated, and thin films are deposited on near substrates. Generally, substrates of silicon, titanium, titanium-alloys and polymers were employed. Biocompatible thin films are investigated with different surface techniques, such as IR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, XRD analysis and SEM investigations. Depending of the kind of possible application, films require special properties concerning the grain size, porosity, uniformity, wetting, hardness, adhesion, crystallinity and composition. The obtained results will be presented and discussed with particular regard to HA..