Infrared microscopy is a well-established analytical technique for the measurement and identification of small samples down to a few micrometers in size. It is used extensively in the polymer, pharmaceutical, chemical, food, and electronics industries, to name a few, often identifying small contaminants or foreign objects of unknown origin. In forensic applications small particles of materials such as drugs, paint chips, residues or fibers are often collected as evidence and analyzed by IR microscopy. This Application Note demonstrates the advantages of such an automated IR microscopy platform for the characterization of particles and/or foreign objects in different types of materials.