Abstract: Apparatus for analysing molecules, including an ablation device 1,10 for releasing molecules from a sample, and a laser device 1,2,3 for illuminating released molecules with a shaped laser pulse thereby to ionize and/or dissociate the molecules. The ablation device or laser device has at least one component which is not shared by the other device. This enables the steps of ablation and ionization/dissociation to be separated. The ablation device may be means for generating an ion or neutral beam, or an unshaped laser pulse. The laser device may be a femtosecond shaped pulse laser. The ablation device may illuminate the sample with a beam and the laser device preferably produces a pulse shaped laser beam which is spaced part from the sample.