Abstract: The present disclosure provides a method for producing a coating. The method may include providing a substrate material and initiating a coating-deposition process to apply a coating material to the substrate material to produce a coating on the substrate material, wherein the coating includes a diamond-like carbon coating. The method may further include monitoring an intensity of hydrogen-alpha emission of a plasma produced during the coating-deposition process and adjusting at least one process variable of the coating-deposition process to facilitate production of the diamond-like carbon coating.

Abstract: A boron coating is applied to selected surfaces of surgical devices, including orthopedic prosthetic alloys and surgical tools to improve sliding wear and provide other benefits. The coating may be applied to CoCrMo, stainless steel, or titanium alloy components of artificial hips, knees, shoulders, and other articulating joints, which bear on wear partners and which experience rubbing wear during use of the joint. In such cases, the coating is preferably applied in particular to the rubbing wear surface of the CoCrMo alloy component to reduce wear of either the alloy component or the mating polymer component, for corrosion improvement, for biocompatibility, or for improvement in infection performance of the device. The boron coating may show evidence for reactive bonding to the substrate, which may include evidence of in-diffusion or of interdiffusion between the boron and the substrate material.