9225080 Williams This project will apply a range of modern surface science techniques to investigate the effects of applied electrical currents on the surface migration of atoms on metal surfaces. The phenomenon is known as surface electromigration (EM). Interestingly, EM on surfaces is rather poorly understood, though it is considered to potentially be of substantial technological interest. In the past it has been studied, but not in depth, with modern surface structure tools. Surface mass transport will be investigated experimentally by studying the changes of step structure under an applied electrical current using low-energy electron microscopy. %%% This project will investigate how surface atoms move or do not move under the influence of an applied electric field. The changes in surface morphology will be followed with a new surface microscope that allows real-time data collection of surface structure images. This is a low-energy electron microscope. The phenomenon of surface electromigration is surprisingly poorly understood. It has been studied for many years, but not with the modern techniques of this project. The objective is to obtain definitive data about surface electromigration, which is acknowledged to be potentially of great technological significance, particularly in the microelectronics industry. ***
