Removing material from the surface of a first circuit comprises generating a first laser pulse using a pulse generator; targeting a spot on the first circuit using a focusing component; delivering the first laser pulse to the spot on the first circuit, the first circuit including a digital component; ablating material from the spot using the first laser pulse without changing a state of the digital component; testing performance of the first circuit, the testing being performed without reinitializing the circuit between the steps of ablating material and testing performance. Targeting the spot on the first circuit comprises generating a second laser pulse using a pulse generator; delivering a second laser pulse to a sacrificial piece of material; detecting the position of the ablation caused by the second laser pulse with a vision system that forms an image; and using this image to guide the first laser to the spot.