Twin-Boundary Reduced Surface Diffusion on Electrically Stressed Copper Nanowires

Wei-Lun Weng, Hsin-Yu Chen, Yi-Hsin Ting, Hsin-Yi Tiffany Chen, Wen-Wei Wu, King-Ning Tu, Chien-Neng Liao*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Surface diffusion is intimately correlated with crystal orientation and surface structure. Fast surface diffusion accelerates phase transformation and structural evolution of materials. Here, through in situ transmission electron microscopy observation, we show that a copper nanowire with dense nanoscale coherent twin-boundary (CTB) defects evolves into a zigzag configuration under electric-current driven surface diffusion. The hindrance at the CTB-intercepted concave triple junctions decreases the effective surface diffusivity by almost 1 order of magnitude. The energy barriers for atomic migration at the concave junctions and different faceted surfaces are computed using density functional theory. We proposed that such a stable zigzag surface is shaped not only by the high-diffusivity facets but also by the stalled atomic diffusion at the concave junctions. This finding provides a defect-engineering route to develop robust interconnect materials against electromigration-induced failures for nanoelectronic devices.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)9071-9076
JournalNano Letters
Volume22
Issue number22
Online published7 Nov 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 23 Nov 2022

Research Keywords

  • atomic migration energy
  • copper nanowire
  • electromigration
  • nanotwin
  • surface diffusion

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