Author: claimsbot

1. A confocal imaging system for imaging a specimen comprising:
a light source;
a light deflector capable of positioning a beam of light produced by the light source at one of a series of predetermined points on the specimen;
an addressable spatial filter capable of selectively filtering light from the specimen; and
a central processing unit capable of providing selective position control to the light deflector and the addressable spatial filter.
2. The confocal imaging system according to claim 1, wherein the addressable spatial filer is a complementary metal oxide semiconductor camera.
3. The confocal imaging system according to claim 1, wherein the addressable spatial filter is digital micromirror device.
4. The confocal imaging system according to claim 1, wherein the light deflector is an acousto-optic deflector.
5. The confocal imaging system according to claim 1, wherein the light deflector is a digital micromirror device.
6. The confocal imaging system according to claim 1, wherein the specimen fluoresces, reflects, or transmits light that is received by the addressable spatial filter in response to the light beam from the light source being positioned on the specimen.
7. The confocal imaging system according to claim 6, wherein a user can select at least one site-of-interest on the image of the specimen.
8. The confocal imaging system according to claim 7, wherein the central processing unit controls the light deflector to position the light beam onto the at least one site-of-interest selected by the user.
9. The confocal imaging system according to claim 8, wherein:
the central processing unit spatially and temporally synchronizes the light deflector and the addressable spatial filter so that the light beam from the light source is directed to the at least one site-of-interest;
light that is fluoresced, reflected, or transmitted from the at least one site-of-interest is permitted to pass through the addressable spatial filter; and
light that is fluoresced, reflected, or transmitted from a site that is not of interest is filtered out by the addressable spatial filter.
10. The confocal imaging system according to claim 9, wherein the central processing unit scans the at least one site-of-interest at a frame rate greater than or equal to 500 Hz.
11. The confocal imaging system according to claim 9, wherein the central processing unit scans the at least one site-of-interest at a frame rate greater than or equal to 1 kHz.
12. The confocal imaging system according to claim 9, wherein the central processing unit scans the at least one site-of-interest at a frame rate greater than or equal to (25,000 n) Hz, where \u201cn\u201d is equal to the number of sites-of-interest.
13. The confocal imaging system according to claim 1, wherein the system is capable of collecting a full frame confocal image of the specimen.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A method of forming a watch case comprising:
work hardening 24 carat gold into a form having a Vickers hardness of about 65 to 75; and
machining the form into a watch case.
2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein work hardening includes stamping 24 carat gold into a form.
3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein work hardening and machining include work hardening 24 carat gold into forms for an middle case and a lower case, wherein machining includes machining at least one of the forms, and further comprising assembling the forms together into a watch case.
4. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising housing a watch movement between an inner bezel and a backing member, wherein assembling the forms together into a watch case includes assembling the middle and lower cases over the inner bezel, watch movement, and backing member.
5. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising assembling a 24 carat gold upper case onto the middle case.
6. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising work hardening 24 carat gold into a form for an upper case; and machining the form for an upper case.
7. A watch comprising:
a 24 carat gold watch case.
8. A watch as recited in claim 7, wherein the watch case includes an middle case and a lower case joined together, wherein each of the middle and lower cases is formed by stamping 24 carat gold into a form having a Vickers hardness of about 65 to 75, and machining the form.
9. A watch as recited in claim 7, further comprising an inner bezel within the watch case, wherein the inner bezel includes a material stronger than the 24 carat gold bezel.
10. A watch as recited in claim 9, further comprising a movement mounted between the inner bezel and a backing member, wherein the inner bezel and backing member are configured to preserve function of the movement in the event of deformation of the case.
11. A watch as recited in claim 9, further comprising a 24 carat gold upper case mounted to the middle case.
12. A watch as recited in claim 7, further comprising a watch band that includes:
a metal mesh with a plurality of fastener holes defined therethrough; and
a flexible strip of material fastened to the metal mesh with respective fasteners passing through the fastener holes in the metal mesh, wherein the fastener holes are elongated in the direction along the flexible strip to reduce wrinkling in the flexible strip in the event of flexure of the flexible strip and metal mesh.
13. A band comprising:
a mesh including a plurality of fastener holes therethrough; and
a flexible strip of material including a plurality of fastener holes therethrough, wherein the flexible strip is fastened to the metal mesh with respective fasteners passing through the fastener holes in the mesh and flexible strip, wherein the fastener holes of at least one of the mesh and flexible strip are elongated in the direction along the flexible strip to reduce wrinkling in the flexible strip and mesh in the event of flexure of the flexible strip and mesh.
14. A band as recited in claim 13, wherein the fastener holes in the mesh are elongated in the direction along the flexible strip and the fastener holes in the flexible strip are not elongated in the direction along the flexible strip.
15. A band as recited in claim 13, wherein the mesh is a metal mesh.
16. A band as recited in claim 15, wherein the mesh is stainless steel 316L.
17. A band as recited in claim 13, wherein the flexible strip includes leather.
18. A band as recited in claim 13, wherein the flexible strip includes rubber.
19. A band as recited in claim 13, wherein the flexible strip includes genuine crocodile.

1. A method for determining dielectric constant of a film comprising:
providing a low-k dielectric film over a reflective layer formed over a substrate;
determining dielectric constant of said low-k dielectric film by measuring said dielectric constant without contacting said low-k dielectric film, said measuring including separately measuring an electronic component of said dielectric constant, an ionic component of said dielectric constant and an overall dielectric constant; and
deriving a dipolar component of said dielectric constant from said electronic component, said ionic component, and said overall dielectric constant.
2. The method as in claim 1, wherein said measuring does not alter any properties of said low-k dielectric film.
3. The method as in claim 1, wherein said reflective layer comprises aluminum or copper.
4. The method as in claim 1, wherein said low-k dielectric film and said conductive layer are features of an integrated circuit device being formed and further comprising further processing said substrate and completing said integrated circuit device.
5. The method as in claim 1, wherein said measuring an electronic component comprises measuring with an ellipsometer; said measuring an ionic component comprises measuring with an infrared spectrometer; and said measuring an overall dielectric constant comprises measuring with a microwave spectrometer.
6. The method as in claim 1, wherein said separately measuring an electronic component is done using radiation having wavelengths in a visible-ultraviolet light range.
7. The method as in claim 1, wherein said separately measuring an ionic component is done using infrared light.
8. The method as in claim 1, wherein said separately measuring an overall dielectric constant is done using microwaves.
9. The method as in claim 1, wherein at least one of measuring an electronic component, measuring an ionic component and measuring an overall dielectric constant includes measuring over a range of wavelengths.
10. The method as in claim 1, wherein said measuring an electronic component includes measuring refractive index and converting said refractive index to said electronic component.
11. The method as in claim 1, wherein said measuring said overall dielectric constant includes measuring impedance and converting said impedance to said overall dielectric constant.
12. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:
processing said substrate in a processing operation after said determining and said deriving then further determining and further deriving following said processing operation;
comparing results of said determining and deriving to said further determining and said further deriving; and
adjusting said processing operation based on said comparing.
13. A method for determining dielectric constant of a low-k dielectric film comprising:
providing a low-k dielectric film over a reflective layer formed over a substrate;
determining an overall dielectric constant, an electronic component of said dielectric constant, an ionic component of said dielectric constant and a dipolar component of said of said dielectric constant by:
first measuring using an ellipsometer, secondly measuring using an infrared spectrometer and thirdly measuring using a microwave spectrometer and mathematically manipulating results of said first measuring, said secondly measuring and said thirdly measuring.
14. The method as in claim 13, wherein said first measuring comprises measuring said electronic component of said dielectric constant.
15. The method as in claim 13, wherein said first measuring comprises measuring said electronic component of said dielectric constant.
16. The method as in claim 13, wherein said first measuring comprises measuring said electronic component of said dielectric constant, said secondly measuring comprises measuring said ionic component of said dielectric constant said thirdly measuring comprises measuring said overall dielectric constant and wherein said dipolar component of said dielectric constant is calculated.
17. The method as in claim 13, further comprising:
processing said substrate in a processing operation after said determining and then further determining following said processing operation;
comparing results of said determining to said further determining; and
adjusting said processing operation based on said comparing.
18. A system for measuring dielectric constant of a low-k dielectric film formed over a reflective layer, said system comprising:
an ellipsometer that measures an electronic component of said dielectric constant of said low-k dielectric film and produces a measured electronic component;
an infrared spectrometer that measures an ionic component of said dielectric constant of said low-k dielectric film and produces a measured ionic component;
a microwave spectrometer that measures an overall dielectric constant of said low-k dielectric film and produces a measured overall dielectric constant; and
means for deriving a dipole component of said dielectric constant using said measured electronic component, said measured ionic component and said measured overall dielectric constant.
19. The system as in claim 18, wherein a first spectrometer tool includes said infrared spectrometer and said microwave spectrometer.
20. The system as in claim 18, wherein said ellipsometer, said infrared spectrometer and said microwave spectrometer are each non-contact measuring tools.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. An electronic still camera comprising:
a photographing optical system;
an image pick-up device; and
a transmission optical component;
wherein light rays of an object which are passed through said photographing optical system are incident on a sensor surface of said image pick-up device through said transmission optical component,
wherein said transmission optical component is shaped so as to shift an image point of an object image formed through said photographing optical system rearwards with respect to said photographing optical system,
wherein said transmission optical component includes a concave lens surface having a negative optical power,
wherein said transmission optical component is fixed to said image pick-up device with the space between the sensor surface and the transmission optical system being sealed in an air-tight manner,
wherein the surface on the photographing optical system side of said transmission optical component comprises a concave lens surface,
wherein said image pick-up device comprises:
a protection glass on the photographing optical system side with respect to said sensor surface; and
said transmission optical component which is installed on the photographing optical system side of said protection glass,
wherein said transmission optical component comprises an infrared absorption filter, an optical adhesive layer, and an optical low-pass filter, cemented in that order from said photographing optical system side;
wherein the surface on the photographing optical system side of said infrared absorption filter is a concave curved surface; and
wherein the surface on the photographing optical system side of said optical adhesive layer includes a concave surface of a plano-concave lens.
2. The electronic still camera according to claim 1, wherein said electronic still camera comprises a focal plane shutter, and
wherein said transmission optical component and said image pick-up device are positioned behind said focal plane shutter with respect to said photographing optical system.
3. The electronic still camera according to claim 1, wherein said transmission optical component comprises a concave lens having a concave surface on the sensor surface side.
4. The electronic still camera according to claim 1, wherein the refractive index of said optical adhesive layer is greater than the refractive index of said infrared absorption filter.