This is a copy of the slides presented at the meeting but not formally written up for the volume.

We have developed unique combinations of in situ and ex situ analytical techniques capable of providing information about thin film growth and interface processes at the atomic scale. The in situ techniques include time-of-flight ion scattering (TOF-ISARS) and mass spectroscopy of recoil ions (MSRI), functional in relatively high background pressure environments such as growth of oxide films in oxygen atmospheres. These techniques are not only powerful for understanding fundamental thin film science, but are also useful for establishing composition-microstructure-property relationships critical for the development of materials integration for fabrication of film-based micro and nanodevices. We will discuss examples of application to understanding ferroelectric and high-k dielectric film growth and interface processes and using this knowledge for developing integration of ferroelectric capacitors with silicon microcircuits for non-volatile ferroelectric random access memories (FERAMs), development of high-K dielectric capacitors for high-frequency devices, and development of new high-K dielectric layers for the next generation of nanoscale CMOS gates. This presentation will include a review of studies of a new TiAl layer developed in our laboratory that can be used as a material with a double diffusion barrier / bottom electrode functionality for integration of ferroelectric capacitors with CMOS devices for fabrication of FeRAMs, high-K dielectric layers with Cu electrodes for high frequency devices, and as a new high-K dielectric for the next generation of nanoscale CMOS devices. We will discuss results from systematic studies designed to understand TiAl film growth and oxidation processes using sputter-deposition in conjunction with complementary in situ characterization techniques mentioned above and ex situ transmission electron microscopy and electrical characterization. This work was supported by the US Department of Energy, BES-Materials Sciences, under Contract W-13-109-ENG-38.