ABSTRACT
This work is directed toward establishing the conditions for the deposition of hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Depending on the application different resorbable or non-resorbable bioceramics may be desired, so within this scope, layers of hydroxyapatite have been deposited on Ti substrates. By means of an ArF excimer laser beam, a rotating HA pellet is ablated within a deposition chamber with a low pressure atmosphere. Among the main technological parameters it has been selected: the influence of the atmosphere nature during deposition, the effects of its saturation with water, the use of water alone, the influence of the atmosphere pressure and of the deposition temperature. The characterization techniques used are x-ray diffractometry, FTIR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry. Pure, crystalline HA coatings have been obtained using an atmosphere of water vapor.
