Fabrication of Cu nanowires at predetermined positions by utilising stress migration

Stress migration (SM) is a phenomenon whereby atoms diffuse from a region of lower stress towards a region of higher stress because of the hydrostatic stress gradient. In this study, the fabrication of Cu nanowires at predetermined positions by controlling the direction of the atomic flux caused by SM is analysed. Cu nanowires are fabricated by rearranging accumulated atoms into wire-like crystals. First, the sites at which Cu atoms accumulate are found from finite element (FE) analysis and from the results obtained from experiments. Next, a technique is proposed for accumulating atoms by SM at predetermined sites. Finally, the successful fabrication of Cu nanowires at these sites is demonstrated.