Electronic Processes during y-Ray Sterilization of Zirconia Femoral Heads

Electronic Processes during y-Ray Sterilization of Zirconia Femoral Heads 

The efficient sterilization of metallic and ceramic femoral heads before surgical implantation is an important requirement to guarantee a successful integration of an endoprosthetic implant (Kowalski and Morrisey, 1997). Since the hydrolytic 

Owing to the replacement of Zr by the Y-TZP ceramic develops vacancies in its oxygen sublattice according to  

The high-intensity X center is related to a trigonal T defect (Orera et al, 1990), the C center to the defect type Zrzr-Og, (i.e., the transformation of a four-valent to a three-valent zirconium ion), and the E center to an intrinsic defect type YiiO (i.e., an electron-hole state caused by an oxygen ion trapped in the neighborhood of a three-valent yttrium ion). This E center is thought to be associated with the 

The doubly positively charged Vo defects created according to Eq. (10.4) are ideal traps for electrons, as new discrete energy states will be created above the valence and below the conduction band. 

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