Influence of the electron beam on electromigration measurements within a scanning electron microscope

In situ electromigration studies on polycrystalline gold nanowires are performed using a high resolution scanning electron microscope. Simultaneously, the resistance of the gold nanowires is recorded during current stressing. The nanowires are prepared by electron beam lithography (EBL) and subsequent thermal evaporation of gold onto the resist mask. In a further EBL-process contact leads are attached to the gold nanowires to determine resistance changes of better than 5×10−4. The authors observe small resistance oscillations which occur during the scanning process. They show that these oscillations are due to the scanning process of the electron beam rather than founded on periodic changes of the void morphology.