Review—Electrochemical Migration in Electronic Materials: Factors Affecting the Mechanism and Recent Strategies for Inhibition

Electrochemical migration (ECM) is one of the serious failure modes encountered in electronic devices due to the electrochemical reactions triggered by the presence of moisture and bias voltage, leading to the growth of dendrites and short circuits. The classical ECM mechanism consists of four consecutive stages: (i) electrolyte formation, (ii) anodic dissolution, (iii) ion transport, and (iv) dendrite growth. ECM is a delicate process that involves a combination of a good number of factors, such as the electrode properties, climatic conditions, contaminants, electric field, additives, etc. We intend to provide a comprehensive review of the complex effects that these factors have on each stage of ECM and provide insights into the recent developments in ECM research. Previous findings, current debates and recent discoveries are covered in this article. This review paper also provides a review of recent strategies for ameliorating ECM failures in electronics.