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Plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) of silver nanoparticles on the surface of 1-D titania coatings, such as nanotubes (TNT) and nanoneedles (TNN), has been carried out. The formation of TNT and TNN layers enriched with dispersed silver particles of strictly defined sizes and the estimation of their bioactivity was the aim of our investigations. The structure and the morphology of produced materials were determined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron miscroscopy (SEM). Their bioactivity and potential usefulness in the modification of implants surface have been estimated on the basis of the fibroblasts adhesion and proliferation assays, and on the basis of the determination of their antibacterial activity. The cumulative silver release profiles have been checked with the use of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICPMS), in order to exclude potential cytotoxicity of silver decorated systems. Among the studied nanocomposite samples, TNT coatings, prepared at 3, 10, 12 V and enriched with silver nanoparticles produced during 25 cycles of PEALD, revealed suitable biointegration properties and may actively counteract the formation of bacterial biofilm.

Five Au(III) compounds were synthesized and evaluated for atomic layer deposition of Au thin films. One of the compounds, Me 2 Au(S 2 CNEt 2 ), showed optimal thermal characteristics while being volatile and thermally stable. In the growth experiments, this compound was applied with O 3 at temperatures of 120−250 °C. Self-limiting growth was confirmed at 180 °C with a rate of 0.9 Å/cycle. The deposited Au thin films were uniform, polycrystalline, continuous, and conductive. Typical resistivity values of 40 nm thick films were 4−16 μΩ cm, which are low for chemically deposited thin films. The chemical composition of a Au thin film deposited at 180 °C was analyzed by time-of-flight elastic recoil detection analysis, proving the film was pure with small amounts of impurities. The detected impurities were O (2.9 atom %), H (0.9 atom %), C (0.2 atom %), and N (0.2 atom %).

The growth of Ag thin films by thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD) was studied. A commercial Ag compound, Ag­(fod) (PEt3), was applied with a reducing agent, dimethyl amineborane (BH3(NHMe2)). A growth rate of 0.3 Å/cycle was measured for Ag at a deposition temperature of 110 °C. The purity of the particulate, polycrystalline Ag thin films was studied with time-of-flight elastic recoil detection analysis (TOF-ERDA) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). TOF-ERDA showed only small amounts of impurities in the film deposited at 110 °C, the main impurities being oxygen (1.6 at. %), hydrogen (0.8 at. %) and carbon (0.7 at. %). In addition to the conventional ALD process, the idea of activation of the amineborate inside the ALD reactor was tested. A catalytic Ru surface was utilized to convert BH3(NHMe2) into possibly even more reducing species inside the reactor without contaminating the catalysts with a growing film.