Structural transitions in electron beam deposited Co–carbonyl suspended nanowires at high electrical current densities

Suspended nanowires (SNWs) have been deposited from Co–carbonyl precursor (Co2(CO)8) by focused electron beam induced deposition (FEBID). The SNWs dimensions are about 30–50 nm in diameter and 600–850 nm in length. The as-deposited material has a nanogranular structure of mixed face-centered cubic (FCC) and hexagonal close-packed (HCP) Co phases, and a composition of 80 atom % Co, 15 atom % O and 5 atom % C, as revealed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis and by energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, respectively. Current (I)–voltage (V) measurements with current densities up to 107 A/cm2 determine different structural transitions in the SNWs, depending on the I–V history. A single measurement with a sudden current burst leads to a polycrystalline FCC Co structure extended over the whole wire. Repeated measurements at increasing currents produce wires with a split structure: one half is polycrystalline FCC Co and the other half is graphitized C. The breakdown current density is found at 2.1 × 107 A/cm2. The role played by resistive heating and electromigration in these transitions is discussed