ABSTRACT
Controlled modification of surface properties by the interaction of photons is a field of considerable technical importance. It can be used to improve the adhesion properties of metal coatings by changing the morphology and chemical properties of the surface. Furthermore, new techniques for metal deposition on arbitrary materials at low temperature by UV stimulated processes are of growing interest. Due to the strong absorption of ultraviolet (UV) radiation by most ceramics, polymers and precursors for photo-induced metal deposition, excimer UV laser processing of these materials occurs efficiently. Recently, novel excimer UV lamps were shown to be very useful in surface processing. Both modifications of surfaces with high-intensity UV from excimer lasers and low-intensity UV from excimer lamps are appealing methods for interesting applications.
This paper describes the use of excimer lasers and excimer lamps for UV-induced modification and metallization of ceramics and discusses the characteristics of the processes concerning the adhesion of metal films on ceramics.
