Tribological performance of ceramic coatings deposited on metal surfaces for micro-bearing biomedical applications

Modification of metal materials by means of ceramic coating deposition is an effective way of forming alternative bearing surfaces. Ceramic AlN, Al2O3 and nanocomposite oxynitride coatings are widely used as protective coatings against wear, diffusion and corrosion. The enhancement of the mechanical properties, such as hardness parameters, effective Young's modulus, toughness, elastic recovery and wear resistance of the coatings, is very important for the tribological performance of the next generation of ceramic-coated ball bearing devices.