Alumina ceramics and Kovar with aluminum interlayer are pressed together under vacuum at temperatures around 600degreesC for joining. This process produces mechanically strong ceramic to metal bonds in one step in an economic manner. In order to arrive at the optimum conditions for solid-state bonding, effects of bonding temperature, pressure and time on the bond strength have been studied. Bonding kinetics is also elucidated. Irradiation of 99% Al2O3 ceramics by 4 - 5 MV X-rays has been found to increase the bond-strength sharply from 33 to 60 MPa with a dose of 15 k Rads for bonding temperatures around 540degreesC. The apparent activation energy for the bonding process (Q(B)) depends strongly on the type of alumina ceramics. Irradiation of alumina ceramics ( 99%), prior to joining with Kovar, accelerates the solid-state bonding by reducing (Q(B)) from 209 to 76 kJ/mole. (C) 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.