Despite the appealing technical advantages of printed electronic (PE) technologies, there are very few studies on their technical maturity. Conductive materials are the primary substances used in PEs; therefore, electromigration (EM) is an important reliability aspect of printed conductive patterns. The inevitable porous nature of the printed lines is derived from the nanoparticle-dispersed inks and is a major concern for the EM reliability. Electromigration has been identified as the primary failure mode of interconnect lines used in semiconductor-integrated circuits. Electromigration is a high-current-density-induced mass transport phenomenon that manifests as voids, hillocks, and/or open circuits because of momentum exchange between the conduction electrons and host metal atoms in an external electric field. High temperature and current density accelerate damage, thereby increasing line resistance and reducing circuit lifetime. This study involves investigation of the EM characteristics of Ag lines patterned by using the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing technique based on the resistometric and Black theoretical models. It was observed that ion migration was directed toward the cathode for EHD-printed Ag lines, indicating that the electric field−ion interactions (direct force) dominated over the momentum transfer by the electron−ion interactions (wind force). The activation energy for EM in the EHD-printed lines indicates that the surface diffusion is critical to EM failure mechanism. This study is a pioneering work on characterizing the EM performance of the EHD-printed Ag lines and the EM failure mechanism.

Electromigration (EM) is crucial to the reliability of most conductive lines used in electronics. In the present study, the EM characteristics of inkjet-printed Ag conductive lines were analyzed under various EM acceleration conditions to comprehend the EM failure behaviors associated with inkjet-printed Ag lines with nanoparticle inks. The evolution of the porosity level in the microstructure of the inkjet-printed Ag lines during the EM test was investigated to locate the EM failure positions in the line and identify the main driving force for EM mass transport. Two theoretical models (resistometric and Black’s) were employed to analyze the activation energy and expected lifetime of inkjet-printed Ag lines. This study indicates that the EM of Ag cations is directed toward the cathode by the direct force resulting from the electric field–ion interaction, resulting in EM failure near the anode and hillock formation near the cathode of the inkjet-printed Ag lines. The activation energy computed from the theoretical models suggests that the surface diffusion of Ag through the inkjet-printed line plays an important part in the EM failure mechanism. This research was a pioneering attempt to experimentally investigate the EM performance of inkjet-printed Ag lines.