Disclosed herein are systems for imaging and ablating a sample. An imaging/ablating device includes an optical assembly, a sample stage, and a receiver. The optical assembly enables ablation of a region of interest within the sample. The laser light propagated from the optical assembly during ablation propagates substantially in the same direction as the direction of travel of the ablation plume toward the receiver. A laser focus detection unit including at least one reference laser and photodetector generates at least one real-time detection signal indicative of one or more characteristics of the sample during ablation and/or of a distance from the objective to the sample stage or a surface of the sample. A controller coupled with the laser focus detection unit dynamically controls in real-time one or more parameters of the ablation laser and/or a position of the objective and/or a position of the receiver relative to the sample to improve MS imaging quality.

A microscopy apparatus comprises a microscope comprising a stage configured to hold a tissue sample, a UV laser assembly configured to emit a UV laser beam to a viewing area of the tissue sample, and an IR laser assembly configured to emit an IR laser beam to the viewing area of the tissue sample. The UV and IR laser assemblies are oriented so as to emit the respective UV and IR laser beams in a same direction.

In order to cut a plurality of clumps having an approximately uniform shapes and approximately uniform dimensions out of a cell aggregate which has proliferated and appropriately eliminate contamination with fragments of different shapes or dimensions, when cutting the clumps of approximately uniform shape out of the cell aggregate which has proliferated, cutting lines along which the clumps of a specific shape are cut out are set such that the area of a peripheral part of the cell aggregate which is not cut by the cutting line exceeds the surface area of one of the clumps, and the cell aggregate is cut by irradiating with laser light in such a way as to trace the cutting lines.

The present invention relates to methods for diagnosing a disease by determining via multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) whether or not mRNA species and/or at least one miRNA species of disease-associated biomarkers ar present in a sample obtained from a subject, and by determining by multiplex sequencing whether or not said mRNA species of disease-associated biomarkers and/or said miRNA species of disease-associated biomarkers of step (a) are present in said sample. The present invention also relates to kits for performing the methods for diagnosis as described and provided herein as well as use of such kits for performing the methods for diagnosis as described and provided herein.

To prepare a sample for atom probe tomography, a raw sample body having a surface and a region of interest (ROI) to be inspected by APT is provided. Pillars containing the ROI are formed into the surface of the raw sample body via ablation of material of the raw sample body from the surface with an ultra-short pulsed laser. Redeposited ablated material is removed in the region of the formed pillars. The surface of the formed pillars is polished. A preparation device to perform such a preparation method includes a sample handling unit, a pillar forming unit including an ultra-short pulsed laser, a removal unit to remove redeposited ablated material, and a polishing unit. The result is an efficient preparation of robust samples for atom probe tomography. To investigate a region of interest of a sample, the preparation method is performed and then atom probe tomography of the region of interest is performed.

A method for preparing a sample of organic material for laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) may include obtaining granular organic material, forming a portion of the granular organic material into a sample pellet, and searing the organic material. The searing may include searing only an exposed end surface of the sample pellet on which LIBS analysis is to be performed. The method may include pressing the seared sample pellet to consolidate the material comprising the seared end surface.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a wafer breaking method and a chip failure analysis method. The wafer breaking method includes: providing a wafer sample, which includes a first surface with a target point and a second surface opposite to the first surface; forming a first crack and a second crack, orthographic projection of which on the first surface are on the same straight line as the target point in a preset direction; forming a cutting slot, there is a preset distance between a bottom of the cutting slot and the first surface, and orthographic projection of the first crack and the second crack are on the same straight line as the cutting slot; and breaking the wafer sample along the cutting slot, such that the wafer sample is broken in the preset direction to obtain a cross section of the target point in the preset direction.

A laser ablation tomography system includes a specimen stage for supporting a specimen. A specimen axis is defined such that a specimen disposed generally on the axis may be imaged. A laser system is operable to produce a laser sheet in a plane intersecting the specimen axis and generally perpendicular thereto. An imaging system is operable to image the area where the laser sheet intersects the specimen axis.

A method for laser microdissection of a laser microdissection region of a prepared specimen includes driving a holder for the specimen into a holding position using a control device. First and second digital images are captured that depict a same portion of the prepared specimen, with the first image depicting the portion under at least one first microscopic examination method and the second image depicting the portion under at least a second microscopic examination method. A live overlay image is generated of the portion of the prepared image in a live mode. The live overlay is presented on a display area with the images overlaid onto one another. A marking is generated and captured on the live overlay image so as to define the laser microdissection region.

A method for preparing a sample of organic material for laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) may include obtaining granular organic material, forming a portion of the granular organic material into a sample pellet, and searing the organic material. The searing may include searing only an exposed end surface of the sample pellet on which LIBS analysis is to be performed. The method may include pressing the seared sample pellet to consolidate the material comprising the seared end surface.