Surface composition of biomedical components by ion beam analysis

Materials used for replacement body parts must satisfy a number of requirements such as biocompatibility and mechanical ability to handle the task with regard to strength, wear and durability. When using a CVD coated carbon fibre reinforced carbon ball, the surface must be ion implanted with uniform dose of nitrogen ions in order to make it wear resistant. The mechanism by which the wear resistance is improved is one of radiation damage and the required dose of about 1016 cm-2 can have a tolerance of about 20%. To implant a spherical surface requires manipulation of the sample within the beam and control system (either computer or manually operated) to enable uniform dose all the way from polar to equatorial regions on the surface. A manipulator has been designed and built for this purpose. In order to establish whether the dose is uniform, nuclear reaction analysis using the reaction 14N(d,α)12C is an ideal method of profiling. By taking measurements at a number of points on the surface, the uniformity of nitrogen dose can be ascertained. It is concluded that both Rutherford Backscattering and Nuclear Reaction Analysis can be used for rapid analysis of surface composition of carbon based materials used for replacement body components. 2 refs., 2 figs