Residual stress measurements of thin aluminum metallizations by continuous indentation and x-ray stress measurement techniques

Stress relaxation in aluminum films of several thicknesses was characterized by using both continuous indentation and x-ray diffraction techniques. Results of the indentation and x-ray stress measurements compare closely for films of small thicknesses. Indentation data from thicker films do not compare well to the x-ray data due to the presence of a residual stress distribution.