초록
In this paper, we studied coatings of the DLC thin film for improving loosening torque of dental implant screw. We used a filtered arc ion plating process which can realize the most dense DLC layer by coating the DLC thin film on the surface of the dental abutment screw. It showed both hardness comparable to diamond and low friction coefficient similar to graphite, and to improve the loosening phenomenon by increasing the screw tightening force Cr/CrN, Ti/TiN or Ti/TiN/Cr/CrN buffer layers were deposited for 5 to 10 minutes to improve the adhesion of the DLC thin film to the surface of the Ti (Gr.5), and then the DLC thin film was coated for about 15 minutes. As a result, the Cr/CrN buffer layer exhibited the highest hardness of 29.7 GPa, the adhesion of 18.62N on average, and a very low coefficient of friction of less than 0.2 as a whole. And we measured loosening torque after one million times with masticatory movement simulator. As a result, the values of the coated screw loosening torque were clearly higher than those of the uncoated screw. From this, it was found that the DLC coating was effective methods improving the loosening torque. In addition, it was confirmed that the cytotoxicity test and cell adhesion test showed high biocompatibility.