IR photoelasticity study of stress distribution in silicon under thin film structures

We have employed the IR photoelasticity (PE) method to study the stress distribution in Si substrates under various thin film structures. A few examples are given to demonstrate how information on the two dimensional stress distribution in the substrate under these thin film structures can be obtained from PE experiments, It is also demonstrated that the PE method is a promising technique for the study of edge effects on stress distribution in semiconductors under patterned thin film structures. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.