THEORY FOR THE ELECTROMIGRATION WIND FORCE IN DILUTE ALLOYS

A multiple scattering formulation for the electromigration wind force on atoms in dilute alloys is developed. The theory describes electromi gration via a vacancy mechanism. The method is used to calculate the w ind valence for electromigration in various host metals having a close -packed lattice structure, namely aluminum, the noble metals copper, s ilver, and gold, and the 4d transition metals. The self-electromigrati on results for aluminum and the noble metals compare well with experim ental data. For the 4d metals small wind valences are found, which mak e these metals attractive candidates for the experimental study of the direct valence.