Theory of the Failure of Semiconductor Contacts by Electromigration

A theory is presented which predicts the time required for a metal film conductor on a silicon substrate to fail as a result of electromigration. The failure time depends inversely on the current density, J, and on the temperature gradient. For a self heated conductor this may be simplified to a dependence on J¿3. Experimental results for aluminium films show a failure time of 125 hours at 106 A cm¿2 and 200°C in agreement with theory.