Laser-induced removal of particles from surfaces was demonstrated. Suc
h ''laser cleaning'' can be performed on the bare contaminated surface
or with additional micron-thickness liquid film coverage on the surfa
ce. With the latter ''steam laser cleaning'' we achieved removal of ep
oxy, alumina, silicon, and gold particles of size 0.1 mum to 10 mum fr
om silicon surfaces. The proposed mechanism of particle ejection is de
scribed.