Although the research on laser ablation advances steadily, mainly on ultra-short pulses (in the order of pico-and femtoseconds), research on the low-cost and low-power-consuming nanosecond regime (>100 ns) is relatively scarce. This process is still difficult to predict, due to the many simultaneous and interacting physical processes that take place in a relatively short time. This study provides an experimental analysis for a ytterbium pulsed fibre-laser on Al 2 O 3 , by evaluating surface

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... hology and fracture strength for two sets of parameters. A very well-defined difference in removal rate and resulting surface topographies was observed, suggesting a threshold point between distinct ablation mechanisms. Laser machining also caused a clear increase on the Weibull modulus, while reducing the characteristic stress.