Femtosecond pulsed laser deposition (PLD) has been performed using a mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser including an amplification stage (150 fs, 800 nm, I kHz) to deposit tetrahedral -amorphous carbon films (ta-C) on AISI 316L stainless steel and ultra high molecular weight polyethylene, in perspective to extend the wear resistance of materials used in hip joints. Ta-C films have been elaborated in high vacuum conditions at room temperature. The diamond-like coated silicon substrates exhibit high wear resistance (in the 10(-8)-10(-9) mm(3) (N m)(-1) range) with moderate hardness (in the 20-30 GPa range), which may be favorable for the accommodation motion between contacting surfaces in a hip joint. In situ sputter cleaning of the orthopaedic substrates in argon plasma prior to carbon deposition has been investigated, leading to the enhancement of the adhesion of the films onto the stainless steel substrates. The adhesion properties of films deposited in various conditions on metallic substrates have been studied by tensile tests. The tribological behavior of the coatings deposited on cleaned substrates have been widely investigated in a pin-on-flat configuration in ambient air and Ringer solution. Finally, a DLC thin film with an homogeneous thickness has been deposited on hemispherical surface of 22.2 mm in diameter of a stainless steel femoral head of a hip prosthesis, whose wear behavior will be quantified using a hip joint simulator during one million of cycles (corresponding to the human activity during one year). (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.