Abstract
Electromigration is the major wearout failure mechanism in the metal conductors of integrated circuits. As such, the study of electromigration is very important in the microelectronics industry, and has been the subject of intense study for over 25 years. The basic physics is fairly well understood, although the precise reasons and mechanisms responsible for the failure process are still the subject of some controversy. Several models have been constructed, all of which adequately predict the major experimental observations, but the underlying mechanisms are very different. The curious thing is that microscopy has not yet been able to provide the evidence necessary to differentiate between the major failure mechanisms.Electromigration is the diffusion of metal atoms in a metal conductor under the influence of a high current density where the mass transport is biased in the direction of electron flow, for n type conductors, by the momentum exchange between conducting electrons and the diffusing metal atoms.
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