Surface structure of alumina ceramics during irradiation by a pulsed electron beam

The structural transformations that occur in the near-surface layer in alumina ceramics during irradiation by a pulsed electron beam generated by a forevacuum plasma electron source are studied. The modification of the surface properties of the ceramics is shown to be caused by the formation of regions consisting of close-packed and identically oriented crystallites within every grain. The crystallites are elongated: their length and width are 0.5–1.5 $\mu$m and the transverse size is 0.1–0.2 $\mu$m.