Laser Cleaning

 

Laser cleaning uses a wavelength of about 1μm. Light of this wavelength is well absorbed by many typical layers of contamination, which means the energy of the laser beam can be absorbed in the layer. 

Unlike laser cutting, for example, Laser cleaning does not emit the energy continuously, but in the form of tens of thousands of short light pulses per second, each with a duration of only a few nanoseconds (1 nanosecond = 1 billionth of a second). Each pulse typically illuminates an area of a few millimetres on the surface. 

In the illuminated area, the energy introduced causes the layer to abruptly heat up locally and evaporate (so-called sublimation) or flake off - the coating is transformed into vapour and dust and can be extracted.