Laser cleaning of insect residue without surface alteration

Abstract Insect residues disturb and interrupt the laminar air flow on airplane wings after a while. These residues therefor e need to be repeatedly removed. Shock wave‐based laser cleaning of insect residue on stainless steel (1.4544.9) is presented as a possible method to reduce insect residues in a single pass and without influencing the base material, as confocal laser‐scanning microscope images demonstrate.