Real-time TEM imaging of the formation of crystalline nanoscale gaps.
We present real-time transmission electron microscopy of nanogap formation by feedback controlled electromigration that reveals a remarkable degree of crystalline order. Crystal facets appear during feedback controlled electromigration indicating a layer-by-layer, highly reproducible electromigration process avoiding thermal runaway and melting. These measurements provide insight into the electromigration induced failure mechanism in sub-20 nm size interconnects, indicating that the current density at failure increases as the width decreases to approximately 1 nm.
Strachan
Douglas R
DR
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. drstrach@sas.upenn.edu
Johnston
Danvers E
DE
Guiton
Beth S
BS
Datta
Sujit S
SS
Davies
Peter K
PK
Bonnell
Dawn A
DA
Johnson
A T Charlie
AT