Aspects of the present disclosure relate to techniques for calibrating a system comprising integrated device. According to some embodiments, there is provided a method for calibrating a system comprising an integrated device, the method comprising: exciting, with light from at least one excitation source, a reference dye molecule disposed in a chamber of the integrated device; obtaining a signal emitted by the reference dye molecule, the signal containing information representative of a bleaching time of the reference dye molecule; and adjusting one or more characteristics of the system based on the bleaching time of the reference dye molecule.