Copper films were deposited onto oxidized silicon wafers by the self-ion assisted technique. A 0 and 6 kV bias was applied to the substrate during the deposition. The films were patterned into parallel line arrays of 20 lines 0.5 mm long, using electron lithography and dry etching. After patterning, the lines were covered by silicon oxide and annealed in vacuum for 1 hour at the temperature 450° C. Electromigration testing was performed in air in the temperature range from 280° to 350° C and at a current density 3.106 A/cm2.

It was found that the resistivities of the films deposited at 6 kV and without bias were 1.7 and 2.0 μΩcm, respectively. The median times to failure are 398.6 and 240 h and the deviations in the time to failure are 0.8 and 0.54 for 6 kV lines and 0 kV lines, respectively. An electromigration activation energy of 0.89 eV was found for 0 kV films.