Surface characterization of lithium disilicate ceramic after nonthermal plasma treatment

Statement of problem. Surface transformation with nonthermal plasma may be a suitable treatment for dental ceramics, because it does not affect the physical properties of the ceramic material.Purpose. The purpose of this study was to characterize the chemical composition of lithium disilicate ceramic and evaluate the surface of this material after nonthermal plasma treatment.Material and methods. A total of 21 specimens of lithium disilicate (10 mm in diameter and 3 mm thick) were fabricated and randomly divided into 3 groups (n=7) according to surface treatment. The control group was not subjected to any treatment except surface polishing with abrasive paper. In the hydrofluoric acid group, the specimens were subjected to hydrofluoric acid gel before silane application. Specimens in the nonthermal plasma group were subjected to the nonthermal plasma treatment. The contact angle was measured to calculate surface energy. In addition, superficial roughness was measured and was examined with scanning electron microscopy, and the chemical composition was characterized with energy-dispersive spectroscopy analysis. The results were analyzed with ANOVA and the Tukey honestly significant difference test (alpha=.05).Results. The water contact angle was decreased to 0 degrees after nonthermal plasma treatment. No significant difference in surface roughness was observed between the control and nonthermal plasma groups. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy images indicated higher amounts of oxygen (O) and silicon (Si) and a considerable reduction in carbon (C) in the specimens after nonthermal plasma treatment.Conclusions. Nonthermal plasma treatment can transform the characteristics of a ceramic surface without affecting its surface roughness. A reduction in C levels and an increase in 0 and Si levels were observed with the energy-dispersive spectroscopy analysis, indicating that the deposition of the thin silica film was efficient.

Lensometry by two-laser holography with photorefractive Bi12TiO20

Refractive and profilometric measurements of lenses were performed through holography with a photorefractive Bi12TiO20 crystal as the recording medium. Two properly aligned diode lasers emitting in the red region were employed as light sources. Both lasers were tuned in order to provide millimetric and sub-millimetric synthetic wavelengths. The surfaces of the test lens were covered by a 25-μm opaque plastic tape in order to allow the lens profilometry upon illuminating them with a collimated beam. The resulting holographic images appear covered by interference fringes corresponding to the wavefront geometry of the wave scattered by the lens. For refractive index measurement a diffusely scattering flat surface was positioned behind the uncovered lens which was also illuminated by a plane wave. The resulting contour interferogram describes the form of the wavefront after the beam traveled back and forth through the lens. The fringe quantitative evaluation was carried out through the four-stepping technique and the resulting phase map and the Branch-cut method was employed for phase unwrapping. The only non-optical procedure for lens characterization was the thickness measurement, made by a dial caliper. Exact ray tracing calculation was performed in order to establish a relation between the output wavefront geometry and the lens parameters like radii of curvature, thickness and refractive index. By quantitatively comparing the theoretical wavefront geometry with the experimental results relative uncertainties bellow 3% for refractive index and 1 % for focal length were obtained. © 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Analysis of experimental tendinitis in rats treated with laser and platelet-rich plasma therapies by Raman spectroscopy and histometry

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)