Sub-10-nm refractory metal nano-interconnects

Upwind electromigration

These transition metal nano-interconnects exhibit an anomalous upwind electromigration at the atomic scale, challenging conventional understanding and opening new avenues for reliability optimization in next-generation electronic interconnections.

Hong, Youran · Deng, Tianqi · Li, Xiyao · Han, Zhongkang · Wang, Jian · Song, Kexing · Zhang, Ze · Wang, Jiangwei

Nature Communications 2026

Advantages

Surface atoms migrate against electron flow direction

Upwind migration is universal across refractory nano-interconnects including tungsten and molybdenum