The 125-fs laser ablation behaviour (800 nm) of aluminium and anodic oxide coatings on an AlMgSi1 alloy was investigated. The multi-pulse ablation threshold of aluminium at 1.2 J cm(-2) was less than that of the oxides of 2-3 J cm(-2). Aluminium exhibited a single pulse modification (melting) threshold of 0.3 J cm(-2). These values derived from an evaluation of the crater geometry coincided with on-line acoustic measurements. The detected microphone voltage amplitude increased linearly with the laser fluence. The morphology of the ablation craters on aluminium indicated melt formation and displacement of a homogeneous melt phase due to the recoil action of the expanding metal vapour. The laser-processed ceramic oxide phases, on the other hand, showed a spongy resolidified melt layer, which denotes a collocated in-depth formation both of a melt and a gas phase. These phenomena are discussed in terms of the relative dominance of penetration depth of laser light and heat affected zones in the investigated materials with strongly varying optical and thermodynamical properties. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.