Abstract: A fluorescence emission imaging method and apparatus allows for high frame rate imaging in scattering medium as well as for fluorescence, phosphorescence, or luminescence lifetime imaging, time-resolved fluorescence, phosphorescence, or luminescence lifetime spectroscopy and imaging. A method involves providing an illumination beam, propagating the illumination beam to a light modulator array, modulating the illumination beam so as to generate an array of point sources, wherein each of the point sources is modulated at a frequency, imaging the modulated illumination beam on the object, and detecting a fluorescent, phosphorescent, or luminescent emission from the object. An optical imaging component in the form of a modulation mask has multiple bands. Each band has alternating transmissive and/or reflective and/or absorptive regions that are patterned such that light scanned over a band will be modulated at a band-related frequency.

Abstract: A method and system for dispositioning defects in a photomask are provided. A method for dispositioning defects in a photomask includes analyzing photomask topography data including data representing a design topology of at least a first photomask, the first photomask corresponding to a first layer in a photolithographic process. Based at least on the analysis, one or more safe regions of the first photomask are identified, each safe region corresponding to a region of the first layer insensitive to potential defects located in the first photomask.