Ceramic surface modifications induced by pulsed laser treatment

Technical polycrystalline sintered Al2O3 90%.substrates have been irradiated, in a vacuum chamber, at grazing incident angles ;308., with pulsed ArF ls193 nm, hns6.4 eV.excimer laser, at different fluences and numbers of pulses, to modify the structure and morphology of the surface. Vacuum, inert gas and oxygen atmospheres, at different substrate temperatures, ;258C and ;7008C, have been used to study surface chemistry and morphology modifications induced by laser energy. Surface chemistry has been analysed by XPS spectroscopy. Morphological modifications have been studied by SEMrEDS microscopy. Changes in surface roughness have been quantified by a standard profilometer. q2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.