Disclosed is a light amplifier device comprising a light source emitting a first light; a first lens unit formed under the light source to collect the first light in an opposite direction from the light source; a first filter unit formed under the first lens unit to remove a noise of the first light; an amplifier unit receiving the first light to induce surface plasmon effect and generate second light which is an amplified light; a second filter unit consisted to remove a noise of the second light; and a measurement unit formed in a traveling direction of the second light transmitted through the second lens unit to measure intensity of the second light.

In one embodiment, a sample surface of a biosensor includes pixel areas and holds a plurality of clusters during a sequence of sampling events such that the clusters are distributed unevenly over the pixel areas. In another embodiment, a biosensor has a sample surface that includes pixel areas and an array of wells overlying the pixel areas, the biosensor including two wells and two clusters per pixel area. The two wells per pixel area include a dominant well and a subordinate well. The dominant well has a larger cross section over the pixel area than the subordinate well. In yet another embodiment, an illumination system is coupled to a biosensor that illuminates the pixel areas with different angles of illumination during a sequence of sampling events, including, for a sampling event, illuminating each of the wells with off-axis illumination to produce asymmetrically illuminated well regions in each of the wells.

A method of analyzing a plurality of biological sample volumes comprises emitting, along an excitation optical path toward a sample holder holding the plurality of biological sample volumes, electromagnetic radiation from a broadband LED, wherein the broadband LED emits the electromagnetic radiation across a range of wavelengths at a total output power of at least 5 watts and at a maximum intensity at a wavelength less than 600 nanometers and at an intensity less than 30 percent of the maximum intensity at a wavelength of 650 or 670 nanometers, and receiving, by a sensor, an electromagnetic emission transmitted from the sample holder along an emission optical path.

Systems and methods for analyzing samples, such as tissue samples, and measuring the emissions when these samples are exposed to light are disclosed. Embodiments include illuminating multiple target locations on a sample with laser light, which may first be manipulated by a scanner, and receiving decaying emissions from the target location. At least some embodiments include the emissions traveling backwards along a substantial portion of the laser light pathway and being received by a detector. Additional embodiments include converting the received emissions into streak lines of position versus time, converting the streak lines to plots of signal strength versus time, and curve fitting the plots to determine representative decay times. In some embodiments, the decay times are presented as plots of position on the surface of the sample versus emission strength, which may be color coded. Some embodiment dwell on each target location for multiple scans of the laser.

Various embodiments may provide a method of illuminating a sample plane. The method may include providing an illumination subsystem, the illumination subsystem including an optical source and at least one lens, having an optic axis at an incident angle greater than 0° and less than 90° to a normal of the sample plane. The method may also include rotating the illumination subsystem about a pivot point between the optical source and the sample plane along the optic axis so that an adjusted illumination distribution generated by the illumination subsystem at the sample plane has greater symmetry compared to a reference illumination distribution generated by the illumination subsystem at the sample plane without the rotation about the pivot point.

A light-emission detection apparatus is provided for individually condensing light emitted from each emission point of an emission-point array using each condensing lens of a condensing-lens array to forma light beam and detecting each light beam incident on a sensor in parallel. The light-emission detection apparatus can be downsized and high sensitivity and low crosstalk can be simultaneously accomplished when a certain relation between the diameter of each emission point, a focal length of each condensing lens, an interval of condensing lenses, and an optical path length between each condensing lens and a sensor is satisfied.

An assay device is disclosed comprising a housing and a test portion, electronic circuitry and an optical assembly each a least partially located in the housing. The test portion comprises one or more test zones adapted to receive an analyte and a fluorescent label associated with the analyte, the fluorescent label being excitable by excitation light and adapted to emit emission light upon excitation by excitation light. The electronic circuitry comprises one or more light sources and one or more light detectors. The optical assembly comprises one or more excitation light guides adapted to guide excitation light from the one or more light sources to the one or more test zones, and/or one or more emission light guides adapted to guide emission light from the one or more test zone to the one or more light detectors.

The invention is directed to a light-emission detection apparatus for individually condensing light emitted from each emission point of a emission-point array using each condensing lens of a condensing-lens array to form a light beam and detecting each light beam incident on a sensor in parallel, and the light-emission detection apparatus can be downsized and high sensitivity and low crosstalk can be simultaneously accomplished when a certain relation between the diameter of each emission point, a focal length of each condensing lens, an interval of condensing lenses, and an optical path length between each condensing lens and a sensor is satisfied.

A device for base calling is provided. The device includes a receptacle configured to hold a biosensor having a sample surface holding a plurality of clusters during a sequence of sampling events, an array of sensors sensing information from clusters disposed in corresponding pixel areas of the sample surface during the sampling events and generate sequences of pixel signals and a communication port configured to output the sequences of pixel signals. The device also includes a signal processor coupled to the communication port and configured to receive and process at least one pixel signal in the sequences of pixel signals that mixes light gathered from at least two clusters in a corresponding pixel area, and to base call each of the at least two clusters using the at least one pixel signal.

Provided are a synchronous fluorescence detector for observing the interface concentration of fluorescent pollutants and application method. The detector comprises a first electric displacement platform, a quartz cuvette, an excitation light path, a collection light path and a second electric displacement platform. The application method comprises the following steps: first exciting fluorescent pollutants by utilizing UV light with specific wavelengths to emit fluorescent light; then collecting fluorescence signals emitted by the excited fluorescent pollutants to the greatest extent by utilizing an UV anti-reflection convex lens combination; and finally, processing the fluorescent signals acquired by a photomultiplier by utilizing a difference method to determine a precise light intensity of a thin layer which is moved at a specific spacing by utilizing the electric displacement platforms so as to determine fugacity distribution of the fluorescent pollutants in the microlayer near an interface.