1/f noise as an early indicator of electromigration damage in thin metal films

Electromigration in thin films of aluminium and aluminium alloys is shown to lead to stepwise increases of the electrical 1/f noise. These are attributed to the generation of highly mobile defect configurations by a nucleation‐and‐growth process. It is conjectured that among them may be the defects that are responsible for the eventual failure of VLSI electronic devices by electromigration damage. 1/f noise promises to be an early indicator of this damage.