Characterization of microstructure in laser surface modified alumina ceramic

Surfaces of alumina ceramic compacts were modified by irradiating with a high-power continuous wave laser to form a rapidly solidified continuous surface layer. A detailed characterization of the laser surface modified alumina using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed a development of (110) crystallographic texture and a systematic evolution of surface microstructure in terms of surface grain size, porosity and roughness with laser processing fluence. Also, due to complexity of surface microstructures, a fractal based approach is suggested to completely describe the surface state of laser surface modified alumina. The results indicated that fractal dimensions of the surface microstructures can be effectively correlated with the surface features of laser surface modified alumina.