Electromigration-induced soliton propagation on metal surfaces.

ABSTRACT

It is demonstrated that under certain conditions, solitons can propagate on the surface of a current-carrying metal thin film. The equation of motion for small amplitude, long waves is the Korteweg-de Vries equation in the limit of high applied currents. The solitons are protrusions whose velocity decreases linearly with amplitude and that propagate in the direction of the applied electric field.