Method and system for improving the surface fracture toughness of brittle materials, and a cutting tool produced by such method

A method of improving the wear resistance of a cemented carbide, the method including:

• selecting a cemented carbide which has a fracture toughness value between about 6 and about 15 MPa·m1/2;
• applying a sacrificial thermo-protective overlay to the cemented carbide;
• and
• creating a toughened surface layer by inducing residual compressive stresses in a substrate of the cemented carbide using laser shock peening with a laser source capable of delivering between about 300 mJ to about 600 mJ to the cemented carbide at a pulse duration of between about 7 ns and about 10 ns (FWHM), a spot size between about 0.7 and about 1.2 mm, a power intensity of between about 7.5 and about 8.5 GW/cm2, and an overlap of between 0 and 90%, wherein the laser shock peening increases the fracture resistance to fatigue and stress corrosion cracking in the toughened surface layer as a result of an increase in fracture toughness while maintaining microhardness.