Measuring Thermal Migration

Abstract

I n cell phones and other devices, a large temperature difference across a microcircuit can cause atoms to migrate, eventually resulting in faulty electrical connections. This so-called thermomigration has now been tracked at the microscale, revealing a diffusion-related force that drives the motion [1]. The researchers studied shallow depressions, or “basins,” on the surface of a square silicon wafer that was heated on one edge and cooled on the opposite edge. They