Voltage-pulse-induced electromigration.

We propose and demonstrate a voltage-pulse-induced electromigration technique, in which electromigration in a gold nanowire is induced for a short period of about 10 µs by applying a voltage pulse. A local temperature analysis and a controlled electromigration experiment in the presence of voltage pulses indicate successful control of this voltage-pulsed-induced electromigration. We also measured the current-voltage characteristics of the nanowire after the application of each single voltage pulse to investigate the stochastic behavior of electromigration. A pulse duration shorter than the thermal relaxation time of the nanowire would allow us to separately control the local temperature and driving force for electromigration.