Patent ID: 7038166

Claim:
A containment plenum adapted to deliver laser light to an interaction region of an inhabitable structure to remove material from the structure, the containment plenum comprising: a plenum housing adapted to be coupled to a source of laser light, wherein the plenum housing is either air-cooled or water-cooled; a window substantially transparent to the laser light, the window mounted within the plenum housing to transmit the laser light in a downstream direction and to provide a barrier to upstream transport of particulate matter generated by interaction of the laser light and the structure; a nozzle fluidly coupled to a source of compressed gas, the nozzle mounted downstream of the window whereby the laser light and the compressed gas are transmitted through the nozzle in the downstream direction to the interaction region of the structure; and a resilient interface coupled to the plenum housing and adapted to resiliently contact the structure and to substantially surround the interaction region, thereby confining the material and removing the material from the interaction region.