Angela Bertuna¹, L. Mendizabal², O. Hernandez², E. G-Berasategui^2
1Protec Surface Technologies, Bedizzole, Italy
²Tekniker, Eibar, Spain
The aim of this study was to increase the dental drill lifetime and performance by using wear-resistant diamond like carbon (DLC) coatings to enhance success rate of an implant surgery.
For DLC protective coating development, the PF650 system manufactured by PROTEC was employed. The PF650 is equipped with 4 magnetrons (800x100 mm) powered by High Power Impulse Magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS) sources from VIESCA, and pulsed dc plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technology.
Different DLC coatings were initially deposited on flat samples at different C₂H₂ pressures and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, nanoindentation and adhesion tests. Cr adhesion layer using HIPIMS technology was optimized for adhesion improvement. The best-performing DLC coating was deposited on dental drills and analysed by confocal microscope to ensure coating adhesion on cutting edges.