At the same time, the dimensions of the circuit features would diminish, rapidly approaching a tenth of a micrometer. As the number and diversity of the layers comprising a circuit increase, so does the incompatibility of their thermal and mechanical properties. The stresses created by these incompatibilities can lead to early circuit failures as well as long-term reliability problems.
Stresses develop in films during thermal cycling and are modified by lithography.
Stress management in film stacks is rapidly becoming a challenge for circuit designers and engineers. With recent advances in stress measurement, film stresses can be routinely measured not only at room temperature but also during thermal cycling. These advances have improved our understanding of thin film stresses. It is the understanding of the fundamental behavior of thin film properties that facilitates sound mechanical design of the next generation of microelectronics device structures. The course is intended to cover the fundamentals and applications of thin film stress and thermomechanical response.