Among other things, an imaging device has a photosensitive array of pixels, and a surface associated with the array is configured to receive a specimen with at least a part of the specimen at a distance from the surface equivalent to less than about half of an average width of the pixels.

A method includes applying, to a sample exhibiting optical scattering and having a emission particles distributed therein that exhibit spin-dependent fluorescence, a magnetic field to shift a resonance frequency of each emission particle in a position-dependent manner. The method also includes exciting the sample with an excitation beam that causes at least one emission particle to emit spin-dependent fluorescence and detecting the emitted spin-dependent fluorescence. The method also includes estimating a position of the emission particle(s) within the sample based on the spin-dependent fluorescence, the resonance frequency, and the magnetic field. The method also includes estimating optical transmission information for the sample based on a wavefront of the excitation beam and the estimated position. The optical transmission information including a measure of an optical field at each position of an emission particle.

A method includes applying, to a sample exhibiting optical scattering and having a emission particles distributed therein that exhibit spin-dependent fluorescence, a magnetic field to shift a resonance frequency of each emission particle in a position-dependent manner. The method also includes exciting the sample with an excitation beam that causes at least one emission particle to emit spin-dependent fluorescence and detecting the emitted spin-dependent fluorescence. The method also includes estimating a position of the emission particle(s) within the sample based on the spin-dependent fluorescence, the resonance frequency, and the magnetic field. The method also includes estimating optical transmission information for the sample based on a wavefront of the excitation beam and the estimated position. The optical transmission information including a measure of an optical field at each position of an emission particle.

Among other things, an imaging device has a photosensitive array of pixels, and a surface associated with the array is configured to receive a specimen with at least a part of the specimen at a distance from the surface equivalent to less than about half of an average width of the pixels.

Among other things, an imaging device has a photosensitive array of pixels, and a surface associated with the array is configured to receive a specimen with at least a part of the specimen at a distance from the surface equivalent to less than about half of an average width of the pixels.

Aspects of the present invention include systems, devices, and methods of surface chemical analysis of solid samples, and particularly it relates to methods of chemical analysis of molecular compounds located either on or within thin surface layer of solid samples. Even more particularly, aspects of the present invention relate to systems, devices, and non-destructive methods combining both high sensitivity and high spatial resolution of analysis of chemical compounds located or distributed on the surface of solid samples with obtaining most important information regarding vibration spectra of atoms and molecular groups contained in thin surface layer of solid samples. These objectives are realized by implementation of computer-assisted systems that carefully regulate the motion of, and force applied to probes of atomic force microscopes.

Aspects of the present invention include systems, devices, and methods of surface chemical analysis of solid samples, and particularly it relates to methods of chemical analysis of molecular compounds located either on or within thin surface layer of solid samples. Even more particularly, aspects of the present invention relate to systems, devices, and non-destructive methods combining both high sensitivity and high spatial resolution of analysis of chemical compounds located or distributed on the surface of solid samples with obtaining most important information regarding vibration spectra of atoms and molecular groups contained in thin surface layer of solid samples. These objectives are realized by implementation of computer-assisted systems that carefully regulate the motion of, and force applied to probes of atomic force microscopes.