AESTHETIC COATINGS FOR DENTAL APPLICATIONS
Techniques for generating a multi-layered thin film coating for dental applications are disclosed. An example of a dental substrate with an aesthetic coating includes a barrier layer deposited on the dental substrate, a textured layer deposited over the barrier layer, the textured layer comprising a first material with features of a size sufficient to scatter light, and at least one protective layer deposited over the textured layer.
1 . A method of generating an aesthetic coating on a substrate, comprising:
providing the substrate to an ion beam assisted deposition system;
evaporating a first evaporant proximate to the substrate to realize a first deposition rate;
concurrently directing a first ion beam towards the substrate, wherein the first evaporant and the first ion beam are configured to deposit a first protective barrier layer over the substrate;
evaporating a second evaporant proximate to the substrate to realize a second deposition rate;
concurrently directing a second ion beam towards the substrate comprising an ion beam energy and a beam current density, wherein the second deposition rate, the ion beam energy and the beam current density are of values such that a second layer is deposited on the first protective barrier layer and includes texture elements of a size sufficient to scatter light;
subsequently evaporating a third evaporant proximate to the substrate; and
directing a third ion beam toward the substrate, wherein the third evaporant and the third ion beam are configured to deposit a second protective layer over the second layer.
2 . The method of claim 1 wherein the size sufficient to scatter light is approximately in a range of 100 nanometers to 1000 nanometers.
3 . The method of claim 1 wherein the second evaporant is aluminum.
4 . The method of claim 1 wherein the second evaporant is selected from a group consisting of silver, platinum, rhodium and tin.
5 . The method of claim 1 wherein the substrate is an orthodontic appliance.
6 . The method of claim 1 wherein the second ion beam is an argon beam, the ion beam energy is approximately 1000 eV, the beam current density is approximately 150 μA/cm 2 , and the second deposition rate is approximately 3 Å/sec.
7 . The method of claim 1 wherein the second ion beam is an argon beam, the ion beam energy is approximately 1000 eV, the beam current density is approximately 300 μA/cm 2 , and the second deposition rate is approximately 6 Å/sec.
8 . The method of claim 1 wherein the second ion beam is an argon beam, the ion beam energy is approximately 1500 eV, the beam current density is approximately 150 μA/cm 2 , and the second deposition rate is approximately 3 Å/sec.
9 . The method of claim 1 wherein the second ion beam is an argon beam, the ion beam energy is in a range of 500 eV to 1500 eV, a ratio of ion beam current density to deposition rate is in a range of 20 μA/cm 2 :1 Å/sec to 66 μA/cm 2 :1 Å/sec.
10 . The method of claim 8 wherein the ratio of ion beam current density to the deposition rate is 33 μA/cm2:1 Å/sec.
11 . The method of claim 8 wherein the ion beam energy is approximately 1000 eV, an ion beam current density is approximately 150 μA/cm 2 , and the deposition rate is approximately 3 Å/sec.
12 . The method of claim 1 wherein the second protective layer consists of Al 2 O 3 .
13 . The method of claim 1 wherein the second protective layer is selected from a group consisting of SiO 2 , ZrO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , and TiO 2 , Ta 2 O 5 , MgO, their nitrides and oxynitrides or combinations or mixtures thereof.
14 . The method of claim 1 wherein the second protective layer consists of SiO 2 .
15 . The method of claim 1 wherein the substrate comprises stainless steel, titanium, and various alloys of titanium, including beta titanium-molybdenum, nickel-titanium, and copper-nickel-titanium.
16 . The method of claim 1 further comprising pre-texturing the substrate with a mechanical or chemical process prior to providing the substrate to the ion beam assisted deposition system.
17 . A dental substrate with an aesthetic coating, comprising:
a barrier layer deposited on the dental substrate;
a textured layer deposited over the barrier layer, the textured layer comprising a first material with features of a size sufficient to scatter light; and
at least one protective layer deposited over the textured layer.
18 . The dental substrate of claim 17 wherein the size sufficient to scatter light is approximately in a range of 100 nanometers to 1000 nanometers.
19 . The dental substrate of claim 17 wherein a textured layer material is aluminum.
20 . The dental substrate of claim 17 wherein the dental substrate is an orthodontic appliance.
21 . The dental substrate of claim 17 wherein the dental substrate comprises stainless steel, titanium, and various alloys of titanium, including beta titanium-molybdenum, nickel-titanium, and copper-nickel-titanium.
22 . The dental substrate of claim 17 wherein the barrier layer comprises Al 2 O 3 .
23 . The dental substrate of claim 17 wherein the barrier layer is selected from a group consisting of SiO2, ZrO2, Al2O3, and TiO2, Ta2O5, MgO, their nitrides and oxynitrides or combinations or mixtures thereof.
24 . The dental substrate of claim 17 wherein the at least one protective layer comprises SiO 2 .
25 . The dental substrate of claim 17 wherein the at least one protective layer is selected from a group consisting of SiO2, ZrO2, Al2O3, and TiO2, Ta2O5, MgO, their oxynitrides or combinations or mixtures thereof.
26 . The dental substrate of claim 17 wherein a textured layer material is selected from a group consisting of titanium, silver, rhodium, platinum, and tin.
27 . The dental substrate of claim 17 wherein the textured layer is deposited with an ion beam assisted deposition process.
28 . The dental substrate of claim 17 wherein the textured layer is deposited with a sputtering process.
29 . The dental substrate of claim 17 wherein the textured layer is deposited with an arc deposition process.
30 . The dental substrate of claim 17 wherein the textured layer is deposited with a physical vapor deposition system not including a concurrent ion beam.
31 . A dental substrate with an aesthetic coating, comprising:
a textured layer deposited over the dental substrate, the textured layer comprising a first material with features of a size sufficient to scatter light;
a reflective layer deposited over the textured layer; and
at least one protective layer deposited over the reflective layer.
32 . The dental substrate of claim 31 wherein the textured layer is titanium.
33 . The dental substrate of claim 31 further comprising a barrier layer deposited on the dental substrate, wherein the textured layer is deposited over the barrier layer.
34 . The dental substrate of claim 33 wherein the reflective layer is a metallic coating.
35 . The dental substrate of claim 31 wherein the reflective layer is a dielectric mirror.
36 . The dental substrate of claim 34 wherein the dielectric mirror comprises alternating layers of a high refractive index ceramic and a low refractive index ceramic.