444 Prakt. Met. Sonderband 38 (2006) 
4. SUMMARY 
Zirconium nitride/silver nanocomposite films were fabricated using unbalanced magnetron 
sputtering on medical grade Ti-Al-V substrates. The deposited films were subsequently 
investigated using a variety of techniques including ellipsometry, x-ray diffraction, 
transmission electron microscopy, nanoindentation, and wear testing. The films consisted of 
nanograins of Ag embedded in a nanocrystalline ZrN matrix. Wear testing using the ball-on- 
disk technique indicated improvements in the tribological properties of the films with silver 
contents < 15%. In addition, the films were found to be haemocompatible by quantifying the 
ratio of adsorption of human serum albumin to fibrinogen on the various samples. In addition, 
they were found to possess excellent anti-bacterial properties. 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
This work is sponsored by the office of research and development and administration 
(ORDA), the Materials Technology Center, and the Center for Advanced Friction Studies of 
Southern Illinois University. The authors would like to acknowledge the National Science 
Foundation for supporting Z. Kertzman through REU program # 0552800 
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