Bulk glass and glass fibres as well as sol-gel coatings of the composition Li20.Al203.4Si02 were crystallised by surface crystallisation. Additionally, glass fibres and thin glass bars were also crystallised by laser treatment. In all cases the resulting crystalline phase could be identified as b-spodumene. The microstructures of those glass ceramic materials were investigated by SEM and AFM. The texture of the crystalline bulk materials and the sol-gel coatings, investigated by x-ray pole figure measurements, was identified in both cases as a (220) fibre texture. Whereas the Vickers microhardness did not display a dependence on the crystal orientation of the glass ceramics, both linear thermal expansion and electrical conductivity were strongly influenced by it.
