Thermochemical treatments of titanium surfaces by laser are presented and the beneficial effects attainable eg wear resistance, corrosion resistance etc., discussed. It is shown that it is possible to produce titanium surfaces with load bearing capability.

The surface melting of cast irons is discussed with particular emphasis on composition and effect of impurities. The hardness and wear properties are outstandingly good as shown from tracks under normal working conditions.

Some unrelated examples are given where progress has been made in laser surface treatment in the last few years. These are large scale transformation hardening, reproducible surface melting of cast iron, surface alloying with a reaction with the surrounding atmosphere, fundamental studies of solidification and evaporation cleaning.

Various techniques of laser glazing are presented. Rules are given for the choise of systems which are suitable for producing amorphous surface layers. Methods of demonstrating the existence of a truly amorphous layer are discussed. Two examples are given: I) electron beam glazing of Ni-Nb coated single crystals 2) laser beam glazing of Fe-B coated Fe-Cr-C cold working steel.

A method is proposed to calculate the crystallization behaviour of multicomponent metallic glasses with several phases. Various geometric shapes of precipitate can be considered. The model also takes into account changes in concentration which arise during precipitation.