On the controversy about the direction of electrotransport in thin gold films

Annealed ’’pure’’ gold films exhibit electromigration against the electron flow. In contrast, gold films deposited on a transition metal underlayer show mass flow in the same direction as the electron flow. Diffusion of the transition metal from the underlayer into the gold film, deduced from Auger analyses presented herein, is believed to be responsible for this reversal. A new experiment, utilizing an ’’inverted temperature profile’’ gives unambiguous results on the direction of electrotransport.