Electromigration

1 definition found

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  electromigration
       
           Mass transport due to momentum exchange between
          conducting electrons and diffusing metal atoms.
          Electromigration causes progressive damage to the metal
          conductors in an {integrated circuit}.  It is characteristic


          of metals at very high current density and temperatures of
          100C or more.
       
          The term was coined by Professor Hilbert Huntington in the
          late 1950s because he didn't like the German use of the word
          "electrotransport".
       
          Mass transoport occurs via the Einstein relation J=DFC/kT
          where F is the driving force for the transoport.  For
          electromigraiton F is z*epj and z* is an electromigration
          parameter relating the momentum exchange and z is the charge
          of the "diffusing" species.
       
          (1999-02-25)