Surface Modification of Aqueduct Ceramics Induced by Nd:Yag Pulsed Laser Treatment

The main aim of this paper is to present the results of the morphological and chemical changes on the surface of a ceramic sample irradiated by the Nd:YAG laser. The tested sample is a part of an aqueduct tile, originating from the archaeological site of Yazd, Iran. The laser irradiation effects were studied as a function of the number of laser pulses and laser fluences around and over the damage threshold. The obtained modifications were investigated because these are essential in laser cleaning of aqueduct ceramics. The Nd: YAG laser with a wavelength, lambda, of 1064 nm and full width at half maximum (FWHM) pulse, tau, of 150 ps has been used for the surface treatment. The ceramic surface morphology modifications, induced by laser, were characterized by a scanning electron microscope (SEM), while the composition was examined by energy-dispersive (EDX) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy. The results show that there are significant differences depending on the applied laser fluences and whether the surface is glazed or not