Thin Solid Films 636 (2017) 164–170

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Thin Solid Films

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tsf

The mechanism of an increase in electrical resistance in Al thin film

induced by current stressing
Chien-Lung Liang ⁎, Ssu-Wei Lee, Kwang-Lung Lin
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, No.1, University Road, Tainan 70101, Taiwan, ROC

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A 10 mm × 2 mm × 500 nm Al thin film was stressed with electric current at 1.5–3.0 × 105 A cm−2 for 1 h under an
Received 4 November 2016 ambient atmosphere. Ex situ variations in the sheet resistance induced by current stressing were measured with a
Received in revised form 25 May 2017 four-point probe. The critical current density for the resistance change was observed between 1.5 × 105 and 2.0 ×
Accepted 29 May 2017
105 A cm−2. The electrical resistance reached a maximum increment of 5.47% at 2.5 × 105 A cm−2. The lattice struc-
Available online 31 May 2017
ture of the Al thin film was investigated with a high resolution transmission electron microscope to determine the
Keywords:
fundamental effects of electric current stressing on the electrical property of the metal film. The high resolution lat-
Aluminum tice images incorporating a selected area fast Fourier transform indicated a large degree of lattice distortion and
Thin films high dislocation density, up to 8.60 × 1016 m−2, in the metal film after current stressing at 3.0 × 105 A cm−2.
Electrical current stressing The dislocations are believed to have been generated by the impingement of electron wind. In situ synchrotron
Electrical resistance X-ray diffraction further evidenced a high degree of lattice strain, as great as 1.1% at 3.0 × 105 A cm−2, as estimated
Dislocation density from the low angle shifts in the diffraction peaks. The generation of dislocations and the lattice strain induced by
Lattice strain current stressing were orientation-dependent, as determined by the d-spacing of the lattice orientation. The for-
mation of a high dislocation density and the subsequent buildup of lattice strain caused to an increase in electrical
resistance of the Al thin film.
© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Electromigration in Al thin film has been shown to induce an abrupt
increase in electrical resistance and to result in open circuit failure at the
later stage of current stressing [1]. An in situ scanning electron micro-
scope observation evidenced the nucleation and growth of voids during
current stressing [2]. These voids have further been shown to build up
the tensile stress at the cathode and the stress gradient in the metal
film, as revealed by an in situ transmission X-ray topography [3]. The
abrupt increase in electrical resistance at the later stage of current
stressing is generally believed to be mainly due to the accumulation of
the voids observed at the cathode.
It has also been shown that there is an increase in electrical resis-
tance of Al thin film at the early stage of current stressing, which occurs
long before the formation of observable voids [4–6]. This early increase
in electrical resistance has been ascribed to the generation of excess va-
cancies induced by the divergence of electromigration flux [4,5]. It has
also been inferred that the buildup of stress in metal film that exceeds
the yield stress and induces plastic deformation can attribute to an
early increase in electrical resistance [6]. The plastic deformation behav-
ior of Al thin film, such as grain rotation, grain bending, and subgrain
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: n58031015@mail.ncku.edu.tw (C.-L. Liang).
formation, have been investigated at the early stage of current stressing
in view of the generation and motion of dislocations, as observed using
synchrotron Laue X-ray microdiffraction [7,8]. It can be concluded ac-
cordingly from the above mentioned studies that the generation of va-
cancies and dislocations in Al thin film at the early stage of current
stressing builds up the stress beyond the yielding stress and induces
plastic deformation. This may further cause an increase in electrical re-
sistance. However, no study has reported direct observation of excess
vacancies or dislocations in the lattice structure of Al thin film. There
is little understanding of variations in the lattice structure of metal
film induced by current stressing.
We recently investigated the existence of dislocations in current
stressed solders using a high resolution transmission electron micro-
scope (HRTEM) [9,10]. In the present study, the fundamental effects of
electric current stressing on the electrical property of Al thin film were
investigated. The increase in electrical resistance observed in the pres-
ent study was correlated with the formation of a high dislocation densi-
ty and the subsequent buildup of lattice strain in the metal film.
2. Experimental details
A 10 mm × 2 mm × 500 nm sputtering deposited Al thin film was
applied for the current stressing study, as shown in Fig. 1. The specimen
was annealed at 380 °C (0.7 Tm) for 6 h in a N2 atmosphere prior to

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2017.05.044
0040-6090/© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 C.-L. Liang et al. / Thin Solid Films 636 (2017) 164–170
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the sputtering deposited Al thin film stressed with electric
current.
electric current stressing to reduce the intrinsic defects. The as-annealed
Al thin films were stressed with electric current at 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3
× 105 A cm−2 for 1 h under an ambient atmosphere. During electric cur-
rent stressing, the steady-state temperatures at various current densi-
ties were measured with a K-type thermocouple. The thermocouple
was attached to the middle of the metal film for the measurement.
The specimens were subsequently subjected to electrical and micro-
structural analyses. The electrical resistances of the metal films were
measured ex situ with a four-point probe at room temperature after
the dissipation of the Joule heat to avoid temperature effects. The probes
were indented in the middle of the metal film for the measurement, as
shown in Fig. 1. The distance between the neighboring probes was
1 mm. The electrical resistance for each of the testing conditions was av-
eraged over three specimens. The standard deviation was also present-
ed for the purpose of clarifying the interpretation of the data. TEM
specimens were made from the middle of the Al thin film. The grain
size of the Al thin film was averaged over six grains on the HRTEM
image. The lattice structure and the estimation of dislocation density
were further investigated with a selected area fast Fourier transform
(FFT) diffraction pattern incorporated with the inverse fast Fourier
transform (IFFT) treatment. The dislocation density for each of the test-
ing conditions was statistically estimated at the same location (in the
middle of the Al thin film) under an ambient condition in terms of the
number of Burgers vectors per unit area. Three individual 13.5 nm
× 13.5 nm regions within the same Al grain were chosen from near
the grain boundary to the middle of the given Al grain to evaluate the
average dislocation density. The obtained value thereby represented
the average dislocation density in the same Al grain with respect to var-
ious locations. In situ variations in the lattice strains induced by current
stressing were estimated from the peak shifts using synchrotron X-ray
diffraction (XRD) during current stressing for 1 h. The XRD scanning
was conducted in the middle of the Al thin film. The peak scanning con-
tinued for an additional 40 min following stoppage of the electric cur-
rent stressing to investigate the recovery behavior of the peak. In a
separate experiment, the Al thin films were heated to the specific tem-
peratures corresponding to those for the current stressed specimens at
various current densities. The temperature was measured with the ther-
mocouple built in the XRD sample stage. The heated Al thin films were
analyzed with a synchrotron XRD to obtain the benchmark thermal
strains for comparison.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Variations in the electrical resistance of the Al thin film induced by cur-
rent stressing
The sheet resistance of the annealed Al thin film was 0.116 ± 0.002
Ω sq−1. Fig. 2 presents ex situ variations (%) in the sheet resistance of the
Al thin film induced by current stressing at 1.5–3.0 × 105 A cm−2 for 1 h.
The electrical resistance was nearly unchanged, a variation of −0.47%,
at a current density of 1.5 × 105 A cm− 2. When the metal film was
stressed with a higher current density of 2.0 × 105 A cm−2 or above,
the electrical resistance increased with respect to various current densi-
ties and reached a maximum increment of 5.47% at 2.5 × 105 A cm−2.
165
Fig. 2. Ex situ variations (%) in the sheet resistance of the Al thin film after current stressing
at 1.5–3.0 × 105 A cm−2 for 1 h.
The critical current density for the increase in electrical resistance was
thus between 1.5 × 105 and 2.0 × 105 A cm−2. The existence of a critical
density for changes in electrical resistance has been reported in the lit-
erature. The critical current density has been shown to be governed by
the length of the specimen [6]. Fig. 2 further indicates that the degree
of the increase in electrical resistance was reduced to 1.70% at a higher
current density of 3.0 × 105 A cm−2. The results obtained herein reflect
the average electrical resistances in the middle of the metal film regard-
less of the polarization effect. It has been reported that electric current
stressing of pure Sn induces a 10% decrease in electrical resistance as a
result of grain rotation [11]. Pure grain rotation with no grain growth
behavior at the early stage of electric current stressing has also been ob-
served in a Sn-based solder joint using an in situ synchrotron Laue X-ray
microdiffraction analysis [12]. Grain rotation was observed only in the
grains located within the current crowding region where there was un-
balanced grain boundary energy and thereby the torque necessary for
rotation. The grains with high resistivity rotated, which gave rise to
lower electrical resistances of the given grains. The grain rotation in-
duced by electric current stressing was ascribed to the anisotropic char-
acteristic of the body-center tetragonal crystal structure of beta-Sn. Al
has a face-center cubic crystal structure that exhibits isotropic charac-
teristics for all crystal axes. Therefore, the crystal structure of Al may
not attribute to the resistance change, as observed in Fig. 2. In an at-
tempt to explore the mechanism behind these results, the lattice struc-
tures of the Al thin films before and after current stressing were
investigated by HRTEM as follows.
3.2. Microstructure of the Al thin film prior to current stressing
Fig. 3(a) shows the bright field TEM image of the Al thin film prior to
current stressing. The average grain size of the columnar structure was
estimated to be 84.74 ± 28.55 nm. The enlargement of the confined re-
gion in the Al grain provided a high resolution lattice image, as shown in
Fig. 3(b). The FFT diffraction pattern of the selected area along the zone
axis [011], inset in Fig. 3(b), presents the Al(111) and Al(200) orienta-
tions. The IFFT treatment of the selected area of Fig. 3(b) was further
performed to reveal the lattice structure. The IFFT lattice image, Fig.
3(c), displays a nice atomic arrangement prior to electric current
stressing. Fig. 3(d) and (e), respectively, show the IFFT lattice images
obtained with a selected orientation treatment for the Al(111) and
Al(200) orientations. It can be seen that there are only few dislocations
in the Al thin film prior to current stressing, as represented by the Bur-
gers vectors as shown in Fig. 3(d) and (e). The dislocations result from
the intrinsic defects produced during fabrication. The dislocation
166 C.-L. Liang et al. / Thin Solid Films 636 (2017) 164–170

Fig. 3. (a) Bright field TEM image of the Al thin film prior to current stressing; (b) HRTEM image of the confined region in (a) and the inset FFT diffraction pattern of the selected area; (c)
IFFT lattice image in the confined region in (b); (d) and (e), respectively, IFFT lattice images for the Al(111Þ and Al(200) orientations.

density in the Al thin film prior to current stressing is further estimated number of dislocations. The dislocations are believed to be generated
statistically as a benchmark for the specimen after current stressing, by electron wind force. The statistical analysis of the dislocation density
which will be discussed later. for the Al(111) and Al(200) orientations was further investigated and
was discussed below.

3.3. Microstructure of the Al thin film after current stressing

Fig. 4(a) shows the bright field TEM image of the Al thin film after
current stressing at 3.0 × 105 A cm−2 for 1 h. The average grain size of
the columnar structure was estimated to be 99.45 ± 24.50 nm. The
grain coalescence is believed to be mainly due to the high temperature,
178.2 °C at 3.0 × 105 A cm−2, induced by Joule heating. Fig. 4(b) shows
the high resolution lattice image with the inset FFT diffraction pattern.
The IFFT lattice image, Fig. 4(c), further displays the lattice structure
and evidences the formation of a large degree of lattice distortion
compared to the microstructure observed in the specimen prior to cur-
rent stressing, Fig. 3. The selected orientation IFFT lattice images for the
Al( 111 ) and Al(200) orientations, Fig. 4(d) and (e), reveal a large
3.4. Statistical analysis of the dislocation density in the Al thin film before
and after current stressing
Fig. 5 presents the average dislocation densities in the Al thin film
before and after current stressing for the Al(111) and Al(200) orienta-
tions. The dislocation density was estimated in terms of the number of
Burgers vectors per unit area. It is seen that the dislocation densities
for the Al( 111 ) and Al(200) orientations, 3.66 × 1016 and 4.02
× 1016 m−2, are comparable prior to those found during electric current
stressing. The dislocation densities for the Al(111) and Al(200) orienta-
tions increase to 6.58 × 1016 and 8.60 × 1016 m−2, respectively, after
current stressing. Electric current stressing at 3.0 × 105 A cm−2 induced
 C.-L. Liang et al. / Thin Solid Films 636 (2017) 164–170 167

Fig. 4. (a) Bright field TEM image of the Al thin film after current stressing at 3.0 × 105 A cm−2 for 1 h; (b) HRTEM image of the confined region in (a) and the inset FFT diffraction pattern of
the selected area; (c) IFFT lattice image in the confined region in (b); (d) and (e), respectively, IFFT lattice images for the Al(111) and Al(200) orientations.

approximately twice the number of dislocation densities in the Al thin

Fig. 5. Average dislocation densities in the metal film before and after current stressing for
the Al(111) and Al(200) orientations.
film prior to current stressing. A high degree of dislocation density in-
duced by current stressing has been reported for pure Sn and Sn3.5Ag
alloy [9,10]. The present study further evidences the occurrence of a
high dislocation density in a relatively high melting point metal, 660
°C for Al, compared to the solders, 232 °C for pure Sn and 221 °C for
Sn3.5Ag. It was also noted that the dislocation density for the Al(200)
orientation is 1.3 times greater than that for the Al(111) orientation
after current stressing, which implies that the Al(200) orientation is
more susceptible to the impingement of electron wind than the Al(11
1) orientation. The orientation-dependent generation of dislocations is
suggested to be determined by the d-spacing of the lattice orientation.
The orientation with a smaller d-spacing, Al(200) in this case, allows
the easy migration of atoms through the lattice plane when the atoms
are driven by electron wind force.
We have observed that no void was formed in the Al thin film either
in the matrix or at the grain boundary region after electric current
168 C.-L. Liang et al. / Thin Solid Films 636 (2017) 164–170
stressing, as evidenced by the bright field TEM image (submicron-scale)
(Fig. 4(a)). The HRTEM image (nano-scale), Fig. 4(b), further confirmed
the void-free microstructure of the Al grain matrix. We also examined
the high resolution lattice image at the grain boundary region, as
shown in Fig. 6. It can be seen in Fig. 6 that the grain boundary is also
free of voids after electric current stressing. Based on the TEM figures,
no void was formed in the Al thin film either in the matrix or in the
grain boundary region. It should be noted that the TEM specimens
were made from the middle of the Al thin film, which was the same lo-
cation as that for the four-point probe and synchrotron XRD analyses.
Therefore, the increases in electrical resistance and the lattice strain ob-
served in the present study are considered to be the result of dislocation
generation rather than the void formation mechanism in the Al thin
film.
However, it has been reported that long-term electric current
stressing will induce hillocks and voids at the anode and cathode, re-
spectively [1,2]. Therefore, dislocation densities in metal films are ex-
pected to be location dependent. The formation of hillocks and voids
was not observed in the present study for the Al thin film stressed
with electric current for only 1 h. It was reported that the early stage
of electromigration induced a highly inhomogeneous distribution of
dislocations at the cathode and anode [7,8,13]. Dislocations were intro-
duced to grains during the polygonization process as observed using
synchrotron Laue X-ray microdiffraction. However, the electric current
stressing times for the polygonization phenomenon observed in these
studies were conducted for 14 h [7], 12 h [8], and 24 h [13], which
were much longer than 1 h of the present study. The current density
may also affect the time required for the polygonization process. There-
fore, it is difficult to determine whether the dislocation densities at the
cathode and anode are inhomogeneous at the present stage. The distri-
bution of dislocation densities in Al thin film under a short period of
electric current stressing, such as 1 h in this case, deserves a thorough
investigation in future research.
3.5. Variations in the lattice strain in the Al thin film induced by current
stressing
The lattice distortion and dislocations induced by the impingement
of electron wind is believed to correspond to the lattice strain in Al
thin film. In situ variations in the lattice strain induced by current
stressing were further investigated with a synchrotron XRD. Electric
current stressing has been shown to induce a low angle shift in the dif-
fraction peak for Sn-based solder alloys, indicating the buildup of tensile
Fig. 6. HRTEM image of the Al thin film in the grain boundary region after current stressing
at 3.0 × 105 A cm−2 for 1 h.
strain in the metals [10,14–16]. The strain measurement in these studies
was conducted in the middle of the solder alloys. In addition, it has been
reported in both Al thin film [17] and Sn0.7Cu solder joint [18] that the
strain induced by electric current stressing is dependent on the location
of the specimens, indicating the existence of a stress gradient. The stress
has been shown to be compressive at the anode while being tensile at
the cathode. This indicates that the tensile stress at the cathode is
much higher than the compressive stress at the anode in Al thin film
[17]. However, the magnitude of the compressive stress at the anode
has been found to be much higher than that of the tensile stress in the
Sn0.7Cu solder joint [18]. The opposite results of the magnitude of stress
in the metals might be ascribed to differences in the material character-
istics, testing conditions, or specimen configurations. In the present
study, in situ strain evolutions in Al thin films during electric current
stressing were investigated with a synchrotron XRD analysis. The mea-
surements were conducted in the middle of the metal film. The d-spac-
ings of lattice planes were calculated with the Bragg equation [19]. The
lattice strain induced by electric current stressing can be estimated from
(dt − d0)/d0, where dt is the d-spacing of the lattice orientation after cur-
rent stressing for time t, and d0 is the original d-spacing of the lattice ori-
entation [10]. It is noted that the lattice strain obtained through this
method represents the relative strain value compared to that for the
original state (t = 0). In other words, the zero strain of the as-annealed
specimen (t = 0) prior to electric current stressing is a benchmark for
the evaluation of strain evolution. It is noted that there was still a resid-
ual strain in the matrix of the as-annealed Al thin film based on the IFFT
lattice images (Fig. 3). The absolute values of lattice strains can be ob-
tained using synchrotron Laue X-ray microdiffraction by indexing
Laue patterns and Laue spots [7,8,13]. Unfortunately, the experiment
was not accessible for the present study. Further analysis may be con-
ducted in the future to obtain the absolute values of lattice strains.
Fig. 7(a) and (b) present in situ variations (%) in the lattice strain for
the Al(111) and Al(200) orientations in the range of 1.5–3.0
× 105 A cm− 2 for up to 1 h. The figure shows that the lattice strain
rose abruptly for all current densities at the beginning of current
stressing and reached an equilibrium value after a specific period of cur-
rent stressing. The time required to reach equilibrium lattice strain var-
ied among current densities. The equilibrium lattice strain increased
with the current density and reached a maximum value as great as
1.1% at 3.0 × 105 A cm−2. The lattice strain observed herein was induced
by the impingement of electron wind, and the thermal strain was in-
duced by Joule heating. To clarify the effect of Joule heating on the lattice
strain, a separate study as a benchmark for the thermal strain was
conducted.
Fig. 8 presents the steady-state temperatures of the Al thin film ob-
served at various current densities. The high temperature facilitates the
elimination of defects in the lattice structure and induces grain growth
in the metal film. It is evidenced from Figs. 3 and 4 that the average grain
size of the specimen increased from 84.74 nm to 99.45 nm, an incre-
ment of 16.77%, after electric current stressing at 3.0 × 105 A cm−2 for
1 h. The decrease in electrical resistance of the Al thin film at a higher
current density of 3.0 × 105 A cm−2 was thus proposed to be the result
of the grain growth mechanism induced by Joule heating. It is believed
that the generation of dislocations during electric current stressing (in-
creasing electrical resistance) and the grain growth behavior at a high
temperature (decreasing electrical resistance) are two competing
mechanisms that cause variations in the sheet resistance, as revealed
in Fig. 2.
The thermal strains observed at various current densities are pre-
sented in Fig. 9. The equivalent lattice strain induced by electron wind
force can be estimated by the difference between the total strain and
thermal strain. It can be observed that Joule heating is the dominant fac-
tor that contributes to the overall lattice strain, especially at a relatively
low current density, 1.5 × 105 A cm−2. There was no lattice strain in-
duced as a result of electron wind force at such a low current density.
When the Al thin film was stressed with a higher current density, 2.0
 C.-L. Liang et al. / Thin Solid Films 636 (2017) 164–170
Fig. 7. (a) and (b), respectively, in situ variations (%) in the lattice strain in the Al thin film
for the Al(111) and Al(200) orientations in the range of 1.5–3.0 × 105 A cm−2 for up to 1 h.
× 105 A cm−2 and above, the impingement of electron wind contributed
to the overall lattice strain, as noted in Fig. 9. The critical current density
for the generation of the lattice strain induced by electron wind force is
consistent with that described for the increase in electrical resistance, as
depicted in Fig. 2. In addition, it can be seen in Fig. 9 that the lattice
strain induced by electron wind force for the Al(200) orientation was
larger than that for the Al(111) orientation, while the thermal strain
Fig. 8. Steady-state temperatures of the specimen observed at various current densities.
169
Fig. 9. Overall lattice strain induced by current stressing as a combination of thermal strain
and the equivalent lattice strain induced by electron wind force.
was isotropic for all lattice orientations. The orientation-dependent gen-
eration of the lattice strain induced by electron wind force was consis-
tent with that observed for the dislocation generation, as depicted in
Fig. 5. The above mentioned findings infer a direct relation among dislo-
cation generation, lattice strain generation, and the increase in electrical
resistance induced by current stressing. This further suggests that the
increase in electrical resistance in the Al thin film can be attributed to
the formation of a high dislocation density and the subsequent buildup
of lattice strain.
During the period of electric current stressing, electron wind
bombarded the Al lattice and thereby induced lattice expansion and
generation of edge dislocations. When the electric current was released
under an ambient atmosphere, a quick recovery from the lattice strain
induced by current stressing could be observed, indicating the relaxa-
tion of the overall expansion of the Al lattices. The mechanism of the ob-
served stress relaxation, as shown in Fig. 7(a) and (b), is suggested to be
the dislocation climb [20]. Under stress relaxation following stoppage of
the electric current stressing, the Al lattice structure still retained a large
degree of distortion and high dislocation density, as revealed by Fig.
4(c)–(e). The distortion of the Al lattices and the edge dislocations con-
tributed to both compressive and tensile strains locally in the lattice
structure, and thereby, the overall strain value approached zero when
the expansion of the Al lattices was released. These defects caused to
an increase in electrical resistance, as observed in the present study. It
is believed that the dislocation density in the Al thin film formed during
current stressing may have been much higher than a magnitude of
1016 m−2 due to the unreleased lattice strain. A higher electrical resis-
tance was thus expected.
4. Conclusions
In this paper, the fundamental effects of electric current stressing on
the lattice structure and electrical property of Al thin film were investi-
gated. Electric current stressing at a high current density of 3.0
× 105 A cm−2 induced a large degree of lattice distortion and high dis-
location density, up to 8.60 × 1016 m−2, in the metal film. The lattice dis-
tortion and dislocations induced by the impingement of electron wind
further induced a high degree of lattice strain, as great as 1.1%, in the
metal film. The generation of dislocations and the lattice strain induced
by current stressing were anisotropic regarding the various d-spacings
of the lattice orientations. The formation of a high dislocation density
and the subsequent buildup of lattice strain in the Al thin film caused
to an increase in electrical resistance observed at current densities of
2.0 × 105 A cm−2 and above. The critical current density for the gener-
ation of lattice strain and the increase in electrical resistance was thus
between 1.5 × 105 and 2.0 × 105 A cm−2.
170 C.-L. Liang et al. / Thin Solid Films 636 (2017) 164–170
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledged the financial support of the
Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
under MOST 104-2221-E-006-028-MY3.
References
[1] J.C. Doan, J.C. Bravman, P.A. Flinn, T.N. Marieb, The evolution of the resistance of alu-
minum interconnects during electromigration, Microelectron. Reliab. 40 (2000)
981–990.
[2] P.R. Besser, M.C. Madden, P.A. Flinn, In situ scanning electron microscopy observa-
tion of the dynamic behavior of electromigration voids in passivated aluminum
lines, J. Appl. Phys. 72 (1992) 3792–3797.
[3] I.A. Blech, C. Herring, Stress generation by electromigration, Appl. Phys. Lett. 29
(1976) 131–133.
[4] J.R. Lloyd, R.H. Koch, Study of electromigration-induced resistance and resistance
decay in Al thin-film conductors, Appl. Phys. Lett. 52 (1988) 194–196.
[5] R.G. Filippi, R.A. Wachnik, H. Aochi, J.R. Lloyd, M.A. Korhonen, The effect of current
density and stripe length on resistance saturation during electromigration testing,
Appl. Phys. Lett. 69 (1996) 2350–2352.
[6] J.R. Kraayeveld, A.H. Verbruggen, A.W.J. Willemsen, S. Radelaar, Critical current-
length product for electromigration induced resistance changes in short Al lines,
Appl. Phys. Lett. 67 (1995) 1226–1228.
[7] B.C. Valek, N. Tamura, R. Spolenak, W.A. Caldwell, A.A. MacDowell, R.S. Celestre, H.A.
Padmore, J.C. Bravman, B.W. Batterman, W.D. Nix, J.R. Patel, Early stage of plastic de-
formation undergoing electromigration, J. Appl. Phys. 94 (2003) 3757–3761.
[8] K. Chen, N. Tamura, B.C. Valek, K.N. Tu, Plastic deformation in Al (Cu) interconnects
stressed by electromigration and studied by synchrotron polychromatic X-ray
microdiffraction, J. Appl. Phys. 104 (2008), 013513.
[9] Y.H. Liao, C.L. Liang, K.L. Lin, A.T. Wu, High dislocation density of tin induced by elec-
tric current, AIP Adv. 5 (2015) 127210.
[10] H.C. Huang, K.L. Lin, A.T. Wu, Disruption of crystalline structure of Sn3.5Ag induced
by electric current, J. Appl. Phys. 119 (2016) 115102.
[11] A.T. Wu, A.M. Gusak, K.N. Tu, C.R. Kao, Electromigration-induced grain rotation in
anisotropic conducting beta tin, Appl. Phys. Lett. 86 (2005) 241902.
[12] H. Shen, W.X. Zhu, Y. Li, N. Tamura, K. Chen, In situ synchrotron study of
electromigration induced grain rotations in Sn solder joints, Sci. Rep. 6 (2016)
24418.
[13] B.C. Valek, J.C. Bravman, N. Tamura, A.A. MacDowell, R.S. Celestre, H.A. Padmore, R.
Spolenak, W.L. Brown, B.W. Batterman, J.R. Patel, Electromigration-induced plastic
deformation in passivated metal lines, Appl. Phys. Lett. 81 (2002) 4168–4170.
[14] J.H. He, K.L. Lin, A.T. Wu, The diminishing of crystal structure of Sn9Zn alloy due to
electrical current stressing, J. Alloys Compd. 619 (2015) 372–377.
[15] W.Y. Chen, T.C. Chiu, K.L. Lin, A.T. Wu, W.L. Jang, C.L. Dong, H.Y. Lee, Anisotropic dis-
solution behavior of the second phase in SnCu solder alloys under current stress, Scr.
Mater. 68 (2013) 317–320.
[16] Y.T. Chiu, K.L. Lin, A.T. Wu, W.L. Jang, C.L. Dong, Y.S. Lai, Electrorecrystallization of
metal alloy, J. Alloys Compd. 549 (2013) 190–194.
[17] P.C. Wang, G.S. Cargill III, I.C. Noyan, C.K. Hu, Electromigration-induced stress in alu-
minum conductor lines measured by X-ray microdiffraction, Appl. Phys. Lett. 72
(1998) 1296–1298.
[18] K. Chen, N. Tamura, M. Kunz, K.N. Tu, Y.S. Lai, In situ measurement of
electromigration-induced transient stress in Pb-free Sn-Cu solder joints by synchro-
tron radiation based X-ray polychromatic microdiffraction, J. Appl. Phys. 106
(2009), 023502.
[19] R.E. Reed-Hill, Analytical Methods, Physical Metallurgy Principles, third ed. PWS,
Boston, 1991 33.
[20] R.I. Barabash, G.E. Ice, N. Tamura, B.C. Valek, J.C. Bravman, R. Spolenak, J.R. Patel,
Quantitative analysis of dislocation arrangements induced by electromigration in
a passivated Al (0.5 wt% Cu) interconnect, J. Appl. Phys. 93 (2003) 5701–5706.