WEAR AND ADHESION PROPERTIES OF MULTILAYER Ti/TiN, (/TiC)/ TiCN/ TaN THIN FILMS DEPOSITED ON Ti13Nb13Zr ALLOY BY CLOSED FIELD UNBALANCED MAGNETRON SPUTTERING

Ti13Nb13Zr alloy stands out as an alternative to Ti6Al4V alloy for orthopaedic joint implant applications due to its low modulus of elasticity, high mechanical properties, high corrosion resistance, high biocompatibility and low modulus of elasticity, as well as con-taining no cytotoxic elements. In this study, Ti13Nb13Zr alloy was coated with TiN/TiC/TiCN/TaN multilayer thin films by pulsed-dc CFBUMS method to increase wear resistance and improve surface properties. Characterization of the deposited films were con-ducted by XRD, SEM, AFM, pin-on-disk, progressive scratch experiments. As a result, it is observed that all the coatings enhanced the tribological properties of the Ti13Nb13Zr alloy surface. The 20-layer TiN/TiC/TiCN/TaN multilayer coatings gave the best results for wear resistance and adhesion properties. Enhancing the interlayer number resulted in increased wear and adhesion resistance. In addition, it was determined that using TiC instead of TiN in the interlayers gave higher results regarding adhesion, wear, and mechanical properties.