LASER Powder Deposition of Titanium-Tantalum Alloys Surfaces for Use in Biomedical and Corrosion Resistant Applications

Tantalum is commonly used in industry as a cladding in highly corrosive environments. It has also garnished interest in the biomedical community for increased biocompatible and osseointegrative properties compared to other metals. The high cost of tantalum makes it prohibitively expensive to use in bulk. Cladding a tantalum surface to a titanium substrate is inherently difficult because of the small difference between the melting temperature of tantalum, 3017 degree C, and the boiling point of titanium, 3287 degree C. LASER Powder Deposition (LPD) is a fusion operation using a Nd:YAG LASER to melt a small volume of substrate into which metal powder is sprayed. This produces a surface layer of tantalum or a tantalum/titanium alloy depending on the desired properties and the powder deposited. Cell culturing to test the biomedical applications of LPD tantalum alloy surfaces has shown this material to have increased osseoconductive properties compared to other orthopedics titanium alloys.