Characterization of the electrical and thermal properties of a metallic thin-film line

In this work, an evaluation method was presented to systematically characterize the electrical and thermal properties of a metallic thin-film line. A series of current-stressing experiments were carried out on the Ag thin-film lines with different geometrical properties on substrates. In combination with the corresponding electrothermal analyses, the temperature-dependent resistivity and thermal conductivity of the Ag thin-film lines, as well as interfacial thermal conductance between the lines and their substrates, were able to be characterized. These characterizations were used to predict the melting current of the Ag thin-film lines, which show good consistency with the experimental values. They therefore validate the effectiveness of the present evaluation method, which will greatly contribute to the development of next-generational electronics with ideal thermal designs.