Gold (Au) is not supposed to react with sapphire(single crystalline <TEX.$Al_2O_3$) under thermodynamic equillibrium, therefore, a strong adhesion between these two dissimilar materials is not expected. However, pull test showed that the gold film sputter-deposited onto annealed and pre-sputtered sapphire exhibited very strong adhesion even without post-deposition annealing. Strongly and weakly adhered samples as a result of the pull testing were selected to investigate the adhesion mechanisms with Auger electron spectroscopy. The Au/<TEX.$</TEX>Al_2O_3$</TEX> interfaces were analyzed using a new technique that probes the interface on the film using Auger electron escape depth. It revealed that one or two monolayers of Au-Al-O compound formed at the Au/Sapphire interface when AES in the UHV chamber. It showed that metallic aluminum was detected on the surface of sapphire substrates after irradiating for 3 min. with 7keV Ar+ -ions. These results agree with TRIM calculations that yield preferential ion-beam etching. It is concluded that the formation of Au-Al-O compound, which is responsible for the strong metal-ceramic bonding, is due to ion-induced cleaning and reduction of the sapphire surface, and the kinetic energy of depositing gold atoms, molecules, and micro-particles as a driving force for the inter-facial reaction.