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Grain boundary diffusion of titanium through platinum thin films has been carried out in the temperature range from 200 to 600°C. Five different platinum/titanium bilayer thicknesses, from 35 to 800 Å Pt, were annealed in 5% O 2 /95% N 2 . The accumulation of titanium at the platinum surface layer was measured by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy ͑XPS͒ to determine the grain boundary diffusion coefficient (D b ). Diffusivity values were calculated based on two different analysis methods assuming type C kinetics. For Pt layers thicker than 200 Å, the activation energy (Q b ) for titanium diffusion was found to be 118Ϯ15 kJ/mol ͑1.22Ϯ0.16 eV͒. For Pt layers thinner than 200 Å, there was a thickness dependence on the diffusion kinetics, resulting in activation energies as low as 20Ϯ4 kJ/mol ͑0.21Ϯ0.04 eV͒. XPS results gave no evidence for any Pt-Ti alloy formation in these layers. The suppression of alloy formation may be attributed to the presence of oxygen at the Pt/Ti interface during layer deposition. The quantitative analysis of titanium interdiffusion in platinum provides valuable information regarding Pt/Ti surface concentrations in thin-film chemical sensors, and for understanding changes in operational characteristics of platinum electrodes.

This paper discusses the development of an extensible programmatic workflow that leverages evolving technologies in 2D/3D imaging, distributed instrument control, image processing, and automated mechanical/chemical deprocessing technology. Initial studies involve automated backside mechanical ultra-thinning of 65nm node IC processor chips in combination with SEM imaging and X-ray tomography. Areas as large as 800μm x 800μm were deprocessed using gas-assisted plasma FIB delayering. Ongoing work involves enhancing the workflow with “intelligent automation” by bridging FIB-SEM instrument control and near real-time data analysis to establish a computationally guided microscopy suite.