Electromigration enhanced growth kinetics of intermetallics at the Cu/Al interface

The growth kinetic behaviors of the Cu/Al system under current were investigated. The current was shown to significantly promote the growth of the intermetallic (IMC) layer. The growth rate constant of the Al4Cu9 layer under current was approximately 3.26 times higher than that processed without current. Moreover, the current direction leads to a significant difference in the growth rate of the IMC layer, which was attributed to the electromigration effect. Based on the traditional thermal-activated theory and electromigration theory, an electromigration and thermal dual-activated growth kinetic model incorporating the contributions of Joule heat and the nonthermal effect was constructed. The growth kinetic behaviors of the Al4Cu9 layer were investigated by applying this model. The calculated growth activation energies under different current densities were almost constant and close to 130 kJ/mol. The experimental data were applied to verify the model, and the results showed that the model was in good agreement with the experimental results. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd