A comparison between stress migration (SM) and electromigration (EM) in the fabrication of thin Al wires was made. The samples used in each case had the same structure and were manufactured by depositing a thin Al film on a SiO2 layer, a native oxide layer covering the Al film. Al microwires were formed by SM by wide-area atomic migration, meanwhile, nanowires were formed by EM through local accumulation of atoms. It was found that the mechanisms of wire formation were same in both SM and EM tests except the ability of accumulating atoms. Al micro/nanowires with controlled geometry can be fabricated by SM or EM. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.