Electrical Failure Analysis of Au Nanowires

Au nanowires were patterned with electron beam (e-beam) lithography and fabricated with an Au film deposited by e-beam evaporation. Two failure analyses were performed: failure current density and electromigration. It was experimentally found that the failure current density increases for the smaller width wire. Size and surface effects on the failure current density were explored. Also, in situ electromigration studies on Au nanowires were performed to characterize the activation energy of Au nanowires with a SEM.