The invention relates to an optical arrangement and a method for correcting centration errors and/or angle errors in a beam path. The beam path here comprises an optical compensated system in which at least two optical elements are present and aligned relative to one another such that imaging aberrations of the optical elements are compensated. According to the invention, a correction unit is arranged in an infinity space of the beam path and between the at least two optical elements, wherein the correction unit changes the propagation direction of radiation propagating along the beam path and the correction unit either has a reflective surface or is embodied to be transmissive for the radiation. The correction unit is movable such that the angle of a change in the propagation direction can be set.

The disclosure is directed to an imaging device comprising: a reservoir having an interior lower surface; a substrate arranged below the reservoir, wherein at least a portion of an upper surface of the substrate forms the interior lower surface of the reservoir; a first light source arranged proximate to the substrate and configured to direct light into the substrate; an image sensor arranged below the substrate and configured to receive emission light produced within the reservoir.

The disclosure is directed to a compound of formula III:

##STR00001##

wherein: X is a heteroatom; Base is a nucleobase; R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are each independently selected from the group consisting of H, CF.sub.3, CN, a C.sub.1-C.sub.12 straight chain or branched alkyl, a C.sub.2-C.sub.12 straight chain or branched alkenyl or polyenyl, a C.sub.2-C.sub.12 straight chain or branched alkynyl or polyalkynyl, a C.sub.1-C.sub.12 ether, and an aromatic group (e.g., a phenyl, a naphthyl, a pyridine), with the proviso that at least one of R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 is CF.sub.3, CN, a C.sub.1-C.sub.12 straight chain or branched alkyl, a C.sub.2-C.sub.12 straight chain or branched alkenyl or polyenyl, a C.sub.2-C.sub.12 straight chain or branched alkynyl or polyalkynyl, a C.sub.1-C.sub.12 ether, or an aromatic group (e.g., a phenyl, a naphthyl, a pyridine); R.sub.3 is NO.sub.2; R.sub.4 is H; R.sub.5 comprises a C.sub.1-C.sub.12 alkyne, an amide, and/or an amine; R.sub.6 is OMe or S—C.sub.6H.sub.6; and R.sub.7 is H or NO.sub.2.

The disclosure is directed to a method for nucleic acid sequencing, comprising: using evanescent wave imaging to identify a 3′-unblocked protected nucleotide incorporated into a sequencing primer.

The disclosure is directed to a method for nucleic acid sequencing, comprising: contacting a substrate polynucleotide immobilized to a substrate with a protected nucleotide and a sequencing primer in a presence of a polymerase such that the polymerase incorporates the protected nucleotide into the sequencing primer, wherein the protected nucleotide comprises a detectable moiety and a photocleavable terminating moiety; using evanescent wave imaging to identify the protected nucleotide incorporated into the sequencing primer; and using evanescent wave imaging to cleave the photocleavable terminating moiety of the protected nucleotide.

The disclosure is directed to (i) controlling a first light source to emit a first light into a substrate on which substrate polynucleotides are immobilized, wherein a plurality of substrate polynucleotides are each annealed to a sequencing primer and bound with a polymerase, wherein the substrate polynucleotides are in a presence of a pool of protected nucleotides, and wherein each protected nucleotide comprises a detectable moiety and a photocleavable terminating moiety; (ii) processing a fluorescence signal to identify protected nucleotides incorporated in the sequencing primers; (iii) controlling a second light source to emit a second light into the substrate to cleave the detectable moieties from the incorporated protected nucleotides; (iv) determining one of both of: a percentage of the sequencing primers that incorporated a protected nucleotide and a percentage of the detectable moieties cleaved from the incorporated protected nucleotides; and (v) modifying one or more parameters of a sequencing primer extension or a protected nucleotide cleavage.

The disclosure is directed to a method for preparing a sample for evanescent wave imaging, comprising: isothermally amplifying a target nucleic acid present in the sample in a reservoir to produce one or more amplicons, wherein the one or more amplicons are immobilized to a bottom surface of the reservoir; and contacting the one or more amplicons with an aqueous solution comprising sequencing reagents comprising a pool of 3′-unblocked protected nucleotides.

High bandwidth time-and-space resolved scatter phase transition microscopy systems configured to detect melt onset in a wafer being processed by laser annealing systems with ultra-short dwell times and spot size.

Methods, devices and systems for up to three-dimensional scanning of target regions at high magnification are disclosed.

In a sample observation device, when the angle formed by an optical axis of an emission optical system and a normal of a scanning surface is θ1 and the angle formed by an optical axis of an imaging optical system and the normal of the scanning surface is θ2, both θ1 and θ2 are 80° or less, and θ1+θ2 is 100° or more. In an image acquisition unit, an image acquisition region F.sub.n+1, m+1 in the (m+1)-th frame of the (n+1)-th pixel is shifted from an image acquisition region F.sub.n, m in the m-th frame of the n-th pixel in a scanning direction of a sample according to the scanning amount of the sample in the exposure time of one frame.