Basic Concepts in Electromigration

Abstract

ABSTRACTA review of basic concepts in electromigration is presented and recent theoretical developments are discussed. The microscopic origin of the driving force for electromigration is elucidated and, as an example, the driving force exerted on an impurity near a grain boundary is calculated in a jellium model. A connection is made between the calculated electromigration driving force and 1/f-noise measurements. Results of the first computer simulations of electromigration at the microscopic level are presented. It is found that dynamical recoil effects can lead to a significant enhancement of electromigration for light interstitial impurities.