Abstract: The influence of electric current on Kirkendall diffusion in Zn/Cu couples was investigated. Under the action of different electric currents, the Zn/Cu diffusion couples were annealed at 785℃ for different holding time. The experimental results show that the displacement of the Kirkendall plane increases with increasing holding time. However, the displacement of the Kirkendall plane with electric current is larger than that without electric current. The relationship between the displacement of the Kirkendall plane and the holding time is changed under the action of electric current. The likely reason for the electric current enhancing effect is the energy transfer from electron to jumping atom, increasing the integrated diffusion coefficient, which leads to the increase in the velocity of Kirkendall plane.

Key words: DC electric current, eletromigration, Kirkendall effect