How does the laser cleaning work?

The goal of laser cleaning is to remove surface material without damaging the underlying substrate. While lasers are capable of cutting through several inches of steel, cleaning requires a much gentler approach and an understanding of ablation thresholds. Each material has an ablation threshold that effectively defines the energy required to vaporize it. Stay below the threshold, and the bulk material remains unharmed. However, exceed the threshold even once, and it will affect the bulk material.