Abstract
Hydroxyapatite is used for biocompatible materials: for example the artificial joints. In this study, micro/nano wear process of hydroxyapatite was investigated by AFM and TEM. In the scanning-scratching test using AFM. the areas of 5 μm×5 μm were scratched under loading forces of 200〜900 μN and the scanning of 64〜1024 lines using a diamond tip. As a result of TEM observations of the scratching traces, dislocations and nano crystallization were observed. The size and number of dislocations and nano crystalline areas increased with increasing scratching load. Wear debris consists of both original crystals and nano crystals.
