Backside circuit edit techniques on integrated circuits (ICs) are becoming common due to increase number of metal layers and flip chip type packaging. However, a thorough study of the effects of these modifications has not been published. This in spite of the fact that the IC engineers have sometimes wondered about the effects of backside circuit edit on IC behavior. The IC industry was well aware that modifications can lead to an alteration of the intrinsic behavior of a circuit after a FIB edit [1]. However, because alterations can be controlled [2], they have not stopped the IC industry from using the FIB to successfully reconfigure ICs to produce working “silicon” to prove design and mask changes. Reliability of silicon device structures, transistors and diodes, are investigated by monitoring intrinsic parameters before and after various steps of modification.

6~8% Y 2 O 3 partially stabilized ZrO 2 (YPSZ) nanostructured coatings were fabricated by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS). The fractured cross-section morphologies of the samples were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thermal conductivities of free-standing pure nanostructured YPSZ coatings samples were determined using the laser flash technique. Specific heat was measured through a differential scanning calorimeter. The results showed that there is a great difference between the fractured cross-section microstructure of nanostructured and conventional zirconia coatings. The nanostructured one exhibits a bimodal distribution of microstructure, viz. directional crystal and isometric crystal structure. Plasma spraying parameters have a significant effect on the microstructure through changing the content of isometric crystal structure in the coating. The thermal conductivity decreased with increased isometric crystal microstructure content. The thermal conductivity can be lowered up to 60%.