Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
A discrete dislocation simulation of plastic deformation in metallic interconnects caused by thermal stress is carried out. The calculations are carried out using a two dimensional plane strain formulation with only edge dislocations. A boundary value problem is formulated and solved for the evolution of the thermal stress field and the evolution of the dislocation structure in the cross-section of the line as cooling proceeds. For lines with a small cross section (height or width less than 1 μm), the local concentration of stresses due to dislocation patterning strongly affects the overall stress build up and relaxation. The results show a clear dependence of the transverse stress development on the line aspect ratio.