Electromigration

We investigate electromigration (atomic diffusion induced by electric currents) in superconductors and other materials for their vast electronic and magnetic properties. In order to understand fundamental properties and underlying mechanisms of electromigration and discover new strategies of nanofabrication to engineer new properties and device functionalities, we have worked with collaborators inside (LNNano/CNPEM) and outside (EPNM/ULg and KU Leuven, Belgium) Brazil. 

Current project: 

Electromigration in Nanostructures

coordinator

In the early days of electronics, electromigration was a significant source of failure in circuits. However, fine-tuning the current density to trigger this phenomenon has shown that it can modify the material properties at an atomic scale controllably. In this project, the electromigration technique will be implemented and operationalized to control the local crystalline phase, the geometry of devices, and the stoichiometry of polyatomic compounds, mainly by the movement of oxygen vacancies and alloy elements, in superconducting materials. These materials will be prepared by different bottom-up routes, such as Solution Blow Spinning (SBS) and also by top-down ones, starting from the deposition of thin films by different techniques (Conventional Thermal Evaporation and Pulsed Laser Deposition) associated with lithographic techniques. Therefore, the fine control of the atomic migration process due to currents and its consequences for the properties of these nanostructures will be investigated for materials with different technological appeals.

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