Electromigration in integrated circuits

We review the mechanism of integrated circuit failure known as ''electromigration.'' Electromigration is a physical wearout process that operates primarily in the on-chip interconnections of an integrated circuit. It is caused by the currents that run through those interconnections. The first part of the review introduces the founding principles of electromigration and the research history upon which those principles are based. The second part introduces and reviews the increasingly relevant issue of pulsed current electromigration, and the final part contains a relatively detailed review of a recent study of pulsed current electromigration.