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Increasing the surface area of a biomedical implant may improve its integration with bone tissue. Ion implantation can create surface structures of the right scale, but the underlying physical mechanisms… Click to show full abstract
Increasing the surface area of a biomedical implant may improve its integration with bone tissue. Ion implantation can create surface structures of the right scale, but the underlying physical mechanisms are not well understood. The authors bombard biocompatible metals with 1-MeV gold ions, leading to self-organization of $\ensuremath{\mu}$m-sized ripples on target surfaces. Continuum modeling of this data elucidates synergy of surface mass redistribution and ion implantation, competing with an unstable sputtering yield, as the cause of pattern formation. This insight could facilitate the microstructuring of dental or orthopedic implants with prescribed roughness properties.
Journal Title: Physical review applied
Year Published: 2017
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