Field-induced electromigration

An applied electrical potential gradient can induce diffusion (electromigration) in metals due to a cross effect between the diffusing species and the flux of conduction electrons that will be present. When an electric field is applied to a dilute solution of interstitial atoms in a metal, there are two fluxes in the system a flux of conduction electrons, Jq, and a flux of the interstitials, J. For a system maintained at constant temperature with Fq = -V = E, Eq. 2.21 gives... 

Figure 24. Current induced resistance change (electromigration driven) in thin tunnel junctions. Notice that the switching currents on the R vs. I cycles do not depend on the external applied field.

Electromigration is the limiting factor for the maximum amount of current that can be passed through a conductor. The vacancy flux (/) due to the force induced by electromigration is related to multiple other parameters by Eq.3 [42], c is the vacancy concentration, D the diffusivity, k Boltzmann s constant, T the absolute temperature, e the electronic charge, E the applied electric field, p the resistivity and... 

Electrokinetic remediation of groundwater and soil usually involves the use of electroosmosis and electromigration. Electroosmosis describes the phenomenon of water flow induced by application of an electrical field on porous media (14). Electromigration describes the transport of ions under the influence of an electrical field (75). The electroosmotic flux, qeo, can be written as... 

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