ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a novel finite element -based, thermo-electrical-mechanical coupled model to study temperature field, electric field, and mechanical stress in nano-/microelectronics. There are three components, heat transfer, electricity, and mechanical behavior, in the coupled thermo-electrical-mechanical phenomena. The chapter provides the governing equations of electrical transport, heat transfer, mechanical behavior, and piezoelectricity property. It presents the application of the coupled model in three-dimensional (3D) integrated circuit (IC) integration. Wafer-level 3D integration offers improved performance and functionality over conventional planar ICs. Thermal stresses in multilevel metallization structures in planar ICs have been studied both experimentally and by modeling. In XRD-based studies, stresses in the metal lines can be derived from the measured strain due to the change of lattice spacing. The top surface is free to move, and the structure is taken to be at a stress-free reference state at its maximum temperature.
