Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
Wafer curvature measurements of a trilayer (SiO2 / AlSiCu / Si) structure are compared to that predicted by a weighted sum of individual measurements of SiO2 and AlSiCu films on Si, and significant differences are found to exist for temperatures above 200°C. A straightforward analysis of the stresses in each layer has been modeled using an extension of a model by Feng et al. which assumes uniform plastic deformation throughout the Al. The modeling results suggest a straightforeward method for determining stresses in deformable thin films that are confined by elastic overlayers. A comparison of the stress-temperature behavior for unpassivated and passivated AlSiCu films reveals that the confined films exhibit less plastic deformation and both higher tension and compression during thermal cycling.