Fabrication of amorphous Zr48Cu36Al8Ag8 thin films by ion beam sputtering and their corrosion behavior in SBF for bio implants

The growth of multi component amorphous Zr48Cu36Al8Ag8 thin film metallic glasses (TFMGs) using single target ion beam sputtering has been systematically investigated. The as prepared sputtering target was crystalline in nature. The presence of the constituent elements was identified from EPMA and AES analysis. An atomically disordered structure was observed by micro X-ray diffraction, electron diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. Glassy films with atomically smooth surfaces of the order of 0.4 nm with higher nanohardness of 9.33 GPa and Young's modulus of 117 GPa compared to their crystalline substrate was observed from nanoindentation analysis. The study of in vitro corrosion of these coatings on implantable 316L stainless steel substrate in simulated body fluid (SBF) indicated that the as sputtered specimen had higher corrosion resistance without any localized pitting. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.