Thin films of non-evaporable getters are employed in the field of electronic devices packaging, as they provide a simple and effective solution for pumping in sealed applications. In particular thin films of Zr-Co-rare earth alloys deposited by sputtering have been developed for this purpose and successfully employed in industrial applications. In this paper we present an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy investigation of the effect of thermal activation of the getter from the point of view of the induced surface chemical modification as seen by such a surface sensitive technique. We find that the activation process reflects in a clear reduction of Zr, accompanied by a decrease of the oxygen concentration at surface, which is fully accomplished already at 350 degrees C; while at 450 degrees C there is a significant increase of the cobalt concentration at surface. (C) 2010 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.