EmiHF: New climate and high-frequency technology for high-frequency electromigration in copper nanoconductors and reliability research for automotive electronics

Project goals

1. Electromigration is a critical damaging process in conductor paths on microchips. Electrons of the current flow transport metal ions of the conductive material due to the high current density by momentum transfer. This creates pores that lead to failure.
   
   The relevance of high-frequency currents in microelectronic circuits is increasing, particularly for radar technology in cars, for example. Until now, electromigration has largely been investigated with direct current. The aim of the project is to investigate electromigration under the influence of high frequency, to assess its significance and to qualify microelectronic technologies with regard to electromigration.


2. Due to the increasing use of power electronics in cars in particular, the microelectronics installed are subject to temperature cycles with a wide range. Temperature cycles cause enormous stress on materials.
   
   The aim of using the climatic test chamber is to generate temperature cycles with a high number and short cycle duration in order to examine the reliability of automotive microelectronic components with simultaneous electrical measurement and use of sensor technology and to qualify them for operation.

Funding: SAB

Project timeframe: October 2020 – February 2023