Typical Activities

Our sphere of activities cover numerous specific fields of material use in biological environments, from wear and friction reduction on implants or polymers, to coatings for pace maker electrodes for improved electrical pulse transfer. Diagnostic related (e.g. X-ray enhanced visibility) or sterilisation layers are also well-known applications in our group.

PVD Coatings
	To improve bio-compatibility or decrease wear, the PVD coatings offer a wide range of interesting functionalities.
ODH for Titanium Alloys
	Titanium and its alloys generally exhibit poor tribological properties. To solve this problem, the implementation of ODH treatment significantly increases the hardness and the chemical nature of the titanium surface. This process is currently successfully used for implant treatment at Sulzer Innotec.
Osteosynthesis Layers
	Surface treatments using Vacuum Plasma Spraying (VPS) of titanium powders or direct structuration, with water-jet, which promotes bone growth on implants by presenting a well controlled favourable porosity.

Tools

Besides numerous coatings technologies, we also offer facilities for small batch and high value niche products.

PVD Deposition
	PVD Deposition offers a wide range of surface modifications: Diamond-like Carbon (DLC): low wear, minimal friction and chemical resistance Oxides: hard, wear resistant, antireflex, e.g. Titania (TiOx) or Zirconia (ZrO2 Nitrides: hard, low wear, decorative, e.g. Titanium nitride (TiN), Tantalum nitride (TaN), Niobium nitride (NbN) Carbides: very hard, low friction coefficient, e.g. Titanium carbide (TiC) Experimental coatings - several new concepts under development.
Controlled Atmosphere Furnace
	A well controlled thermal treatment used for oxygen diffusion hardnening of titanium alloys up to 900 VHN.