Claims
- 1. A component assembly for use in living tissue comprising:
a ceramic part, a metal part, an essentially pure interlayer material for bonding said ceramic part to said metal part.
- 2. The component assembly of claim 1 wherein
said ceramic part is selected from the group consisting of alumina, titania, zirconia, stabilized-zirconia, partially-stabilized zirconia, tetragonal zirconia, magnesia-stabilized zirconia, ceria-stabilized zirconia, yttria-stabilized zirconia, calcia-stabilized zirconia, and yttria-stabilized zirconia.
- 3. The component assembly of claim 1 wherein
said metal part is selected from the group consisting of titanium and titanium alloys.
- 4. The component assembly of claim 1 wherein
said interlayer material reacts with and forms a eutectic bond between said metal part and said ceramic part.
- 5. The component assembly of claim 1 wherein:
said pure interlayer material is an essentially pure nickel foil having a thickness of approximately 0.001 inches or less, and said component assembly is heated to a temperature that is less than the melting point of said metal part or of said pure interlayer material, but that is greater than the eutectic melting point, thereby forming a bond.
- 6. The component assembly of claim 1 wherein
said pure interlayer material is a thin coating of essentially pure nickel that is applied to the surfaces that are to be bonded of either said metal part or said ceramic part, by a chemical process selected from the group consisting of electroless plating and electroplating.
- 7. The component assembly of claim 1 wherein
said pure interlayer material is a thin coating of essentially pure nickel that is applied to the surfaces that are to be bonded of either said metal part or said ceramic part, by a thermal process selected from the group consisting of sputtering, evaporating, and ion beam enhanced deposition.
- 8. The component assembly of claim 1 wherein
said essentially pure interlayer material is a thin coating of essentially pure nickel that is applied to the surfaces that are to be bonded of either said metal part or said ceramic part, selected from the group consisting of metallic beads and metallic powder.
- 9. A method of hermetically sealing a ceramic and metal component assembly for implantation in living tissue, comprising the steps of:
selecting a ceramic part; selecting a metal part; selecting an essentially pure interlayer material that is compatible with said ceramic part, said essentially pure interlayer material being one which forms a eutectic alloy with said metal part, said eutectic alloy consisting predominately of metal of said metal part and having a eutectic melting point temperature that is lower than the respective melting points of said metal or of said pure interlayer material; positioning said pure interlayer material between said ceramic part and said metal part; applying a force to said ceramic part and said metal part to place said pure interlayer material in compression, thereby creating intimate contact between said ceramic part, said metal part and said pure interlayer material; placing said assembly in a non-reactive atmosphere; heating said assembly to a bonding temperature between said eutectic melting point and said melting point of said metal; and holding the assembly at said bonding temperature for a predetermined time to form a bond between said ceramic part and said metal part.
- 10. The method of claim 9 wherein
said force creates compression between 2 and 500 psi.
- 11. The method of claim 9 wherein
said force creates compression between 2 and 7 psi.
- 12. The method of claim 9 wherein
said ceramic part is selected from the group consisting of alumina, titania, zirconia, stabilized-zirconia, partially-stabilized zirconia, tetragonal zirconia, magnesia-stabilized zirconia, ceria-stabilized zirconia, yttria-stabilized zirconia, and calcia-stabilized zirconia.
- 13. The method of claim 9 wherein
said metal part is selected from the group consisting of titanium and its alloys.
- 14. The method of claim 9 wherein
said metal part is comprised of Ti-6Al-4V.
- 15. The method of claim 9 wherein
said essentially pure interlayer material is comprised of pure nickel.
- 16. The method of claim 9 wherein
said essentially pure interlayer material is approximately 0.001 inches or less thick foil.
- 17. The method of claim 9 wherein
said essentially pure interlayer material is applied chemically.
- 18. The method of claim 9 wherein
said essentially pure interlayer material is applied thermally.
- 19. The method of claim 9 wherein
said essentially pure interlayer material is in the form of metallic beads.
- 20. The method of claim 9 wherein
said essentially pure interlayer material is in the form of metallic powder.
- 21. The method of claim 9 wherein
said non-reactive atmosphere is a vacuum between approximately 10−6 to 10−7 torr.
- 22. The method of claim 9 wherein
said bonding temperature is between approximately 1728° to 1800° F.
- 23. The method of claim 9 wherein
said predetermined time is between approximately 5 and 20 minutes.
- 24. The method of claim 9 additionally comprising the step of
cleaning said component assembly after bonding to remove toxic materials that are harmful to living tissue.
- 25. The method of claim 24 additionally comprising the step of
cleaning said component assembly after bonding by placing it in an acid bath.
- 26. The method of claim 24 wherein
said toxic materials are nickel and nickel salts.
- 27. A method of bonding a Ti-6Al-4V metal part to a ceramic part making a hermetically sealed component assembly for implantation in living tissue, comprising the steps of:
selecting a ceramic part from the group consisting of biocompatible and corrosion resistant ceramics; positioning an essentially pure nickel foil between said ceramic part and said Ti-6Al-4V metal part; applying a force to said ceramic part and said metal part so as to place said pure nickel foil in compression; placing said component assembly in a non-reactive atmosphere; and heating said component assembly to between approximately 1728° and 1800° F. for between approximately 5 and 20 minutes.
- 28. A method of bonding a ceramic part to a metal part to form a component assembly for placement in living tissue in which an interlayer material is placed between the two parts to be bonded, applying a compressive force of 2 to 500 psi to said ceramic part and said metal part so as to place said interlayer material in compression to form intimate contact between said ceramic part, said metal part and said interlayer material, said interlayer material being a metal which forms a eutectic alloy with said metal part, said eutectic alloy consisting predominately of metal comprising said metal part and having a eutectic temperature that is lower than the melting point of said metal or of said interlayer material, and in which said component assembly, comprising said ceramic part, said metal part and said pure interlayer material, is placed at a bonding temperature, for a predetermined time, that is less than the melting point of said metal part, said ceramic part or said interlayer material, but where said bonding temperature is greater than the melting point temperature of said eutectic alloy, selecting said ceramic part from the group consisting of alumina, titania, zirconia, stabilized-zirconia, partially-stabilized zirconia, tetragonal zirconia, magnesia-stabilized zirconia, ceria-stabilized zirconia, yttria-stabilized zirconia, and calcia-stabilized zirconia, selecting said metal part from the group consisting of titanium and titanium alloys,
wherein the improvement comprises:
selecting said interlayer material to be essentially pure nickel; and selecting said bonding temperature between approximately 1728° and 1800° F.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional application No. 60/299,376, filed Jun. 18, 2001.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60299376 |
Jun 2001 |
US |