Polyamide (nylon 6) was irradiated by a pulsed ultraviolet (UV) excimer laser with a fluence below its ablation threshold. Chemical modifications on laser treated nylon were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (Tof-SIMS) and chemical force microscopy (CFM). XPS study provides information about changes in chemical composition and the chemical-state of atom types on the fiber surface. The high sensitivity of TOF-SIMS to the topmost layers was used to detect crosslinking after the laser treatment. Gold-coated AFM tips modified with -COOH terminated self-assembled alkanethiol monolayers (SAMs) were used to measure adhesion forces on the untreated and laser treated samples. XPS results revealed that the irradiated samples have higher oxygen content than prior to laser irradiation. Tof-SIMS analysis illustrated that carbonyl groups in nylon 6 decrease significantly but hydroxyl groups increase after low-fluence laser irradiation. The adhesion force measurements by CFM showed spatial distribution of hydroxyl groups on nylon 6 after the laser treatment. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.