Disclosed are devices, systems and/or methods for use in the surgical treatment of vertebrae and/or other bones, particularly implants and/or related devices comprising silicon nitride in some of all of the implant or device body, including portions, layers and/or surface coatings thereof, for use in spinal surgeries and/or other orthopedic procedures.

The process for producing an orthopedic implant having an integrated silicon nitride surface layer includes steps for positioning the orthopedic implant inside a vacuum chamber, mixing nitrogen gas and vaporized silicon atoms in the vacuum chamber, emitting a relatively high energy beam into the mixture of nitrogen gas and vaporized silicon atoms in the vacuum chamber to cause a gas-phase reaction between the nitrogen gas and the vaporized silicon atoms to form reacted precipitate silicon nitride molecules, and driving the precipitate silicon nitride molecules with the same beam into an outer surface of the orthopedic implant at a relatively high energy such that the precipitate silicon nitride molecules implant therein and form at least a part of the molecular structure of the outer surface of the orthopedic implant, thereby forming the integrated silicon nitride surface layer.

Disclosed are devices, systems and/or methods for use in the surgical treatment of vertebrae and/or other bones, particularly implants and/or related devices comprising silicon nitride in some of all of the implant or device body, including portions, layers and/or surface coatings thereof, for use in spinal surgeries and/or other orthopedic procedures.

An implant comprises a substrate and a coating on a surface of the substrate, and the coating includes silicon nitride and has a thickness of from about 1 to about 15 micrometer wherein the silicon nitride coating has a composition defined by Si.sub.xN.sub.yW.sub.z, where W is C, H and/or O, 2<x<4, 3<y<5, and z is such that the coating contains less than 20 atomic percent of C, H and O.

Disclosed herein are methods for functionalizing the surface of a biomedical implant. The biomedical implant may be a zirconia-toughened alumina implant surface functionalized with silicon nitride powder for promoting osteogenesis.

The process for producing an orthopedic implant having an integrated ceramic surface layer includes steps for positioning the orthopedic implant inside a vacuum chamber, emitting a relatively high energy beam into the at least two different vaporized metalloid or transition metal atoms in the vacuum chamber to cause a collision therein to form ceramic molecules, and driving the ceramic molecules with the ion beam into an outer surface of the orthopedic implant at a relatively high energy such that the ceramic molecules implant therein and form at least a part of the molecular structure of the outer surface of the orthopedic implant, thereby forming the integrated ceramic surface layer.

The process for producing an orthopedic implant having an integrated silicon nitride surface layer includes steps for positioning the orthopedic implant inside a vacuum chamber, mixing nitrogen gas and vaporized silicon atoms in the vacuum chamber, emitting a relatively high energy beam into the mixture of nitrogen gas and vaporized silicon atoms in the vacuum chamber to cause a gas-phase reaction between the nitrogen gas and the vaporized silicon atoms to form reacted precipitate silicon nitride molecules, and driving the precipitate silicon nitride molecules with the same beam into an outer surface of the orthopedic implant at a relatively high energy such that the precipitate silicon nitride molecules implant therein and form at least a part of the molecular structure of the outer surface of the orthopedic implant, thereby forming the integrated silicon nitride surface layer.