Influence of plasma excitation power on mechanical property and biocompatibility of titania/alumina composite thin films for medical implant prepared by magnetron sputtering

In present study, titania-alumina composite films were deposited using pulsed DC magnetron sputtering system for various plasma excitation powers (100 W to 200 W). The composition of films was examined through x-ray diffractometer (XRD), whereas Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Atomic force microscope (AFM) were carried out to investigate the surface morphology. The mechanical properties such as strength and hardness of deposited films were determined by using universal testing machine and Vickers hardness tester. It was observed that the yield strength (YS), ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and hardness of treated samples were increased. The stability of deposited films was investigated using scratch test. The biocompatibility of deposited films was studied by culturing the MC3T3-E1 cells for three days. The micrographs of cells culture showed better cells growth/proliferation (elongated morphology) on film prepared at 150 W. Our results exhibit that titania-alumina composite films enhance the surface roughness, mechanical properties and biocompatibility of titanium. Therefore, Ti is also a better choice for load barring applications as compared to Ti6Al4V which contain the toxic element.