An experimental investigation was conducted to explore the characteristics of microscopic boiling induced by firing a microsecond pulsed laser beam on a thin platinum (Pt) film that immerged in the liquid nitrogen (LN2) cryostat. High-speed photography aided by a high-voltage lighting system was employed to visually observe the bubble formation and the dynamical boiling process of LN2. A rapid transient temperature-measuring system was designed to record the temperature evolution of the heating surface. Explosive boiling, characterized by bubble cluster, was observed within LN2 at the early stage of laser heating, and conventional boiling followed after a certain time. The transition time, therefore, was introduced for separating these two different boiling modes. The temperature of Pt film rose sharply to its maximum during laser pulse, with a very high rising rate of about 10(7) K/s, and then dropped rapidly after laser irradiation. A model of bubble cluster was proposed to describe the explosive boiling heat transfer, and the latent heat released by bubble collapse in explosive boiling was explored as an important mechanism considerably influencing the boiling heat transfer.