Patent ID: 7297895

Claim:
Apparatus for removing one or more particle(s) adhered to a surface of a sample, comprising: means for arranging an energy transfer medium under and around the one or more particle(s); means for irradiating the one or more particle(s), the surface, the sample and/or the energy transfer medium with laser energy to absorb sufficient energy in the one or more particle(s), the surface, the sample and/or the energy transfer medium to dislodge the one or more particle(s); and means for creating a temperature gradient separate from the means for irradiating, wherein the temperature gradient is perpendicular to and extending along substantially the entire surface, wherein the temperature gradient decreases in temperature as a distance from the surface increases sufficient to prevent the one or more particle(s) from redepositing on the surface, the means for creating a temperature gradient comprising a first plate adjacent to the sample having a temperature controlled by at least one temperature control unit, and a second plate positioned a predetermined distance from the sample having a temperature controlled by the at least one temperature control unit and configured to work in cooperation with the at least one temperature control unit and the first plate to create the temperature gradient.