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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
Sintered alumina ceramics are recognized as important industrial materials. For many of their applications however, a suitable pretreatment is required aiming at improving the ceramic surface properties. Since excimer lasers have recently proved to be efficient in ceramic processing, a detailed investigation of sintered alumina surface modifications upon excimer irradiation has been performed. In a previous work the results of low-angle X-ray diffraction analysis reveal emergence of the alumina gamma-phase within the upper 10nm of the material. This presence is further demonstrated by the XPS-study reported here. The photoelectron data are compared with information obtained by optical methods.