Nanoscale deformation measurement of microscale interconnection assemblies by a digital image correlation technique

The continuous miniaturization of microelectronic devices and interconnections demand more and more experimental strain/stress analysis of micro- and nanoscale components for material characterization and structure reliability analysis. The digital image correlation (DIC) technique, with the aid of scanning probe microscopes, has become a very promising tool to meet this demand. In this study, an atomic force microscope (AFM) was used to scan and digitally image micro-interconnection assemblies in a micro-thermoelectric cooler. AFM images of the scan region of interest were obtained separately when the microelectronic device was operated before and after the cooling and heating stages. The AFM images were then used to obtain the in-plane deformation fields in the observed region of the micro-assembly. AFM image correlation is performed for nanoscale deformation analysis using the authors' AFM-DIC program. The results show that the observed region was subjected to cyclic strains when the device worked between its cooling and heating stages, and cyclic strain in the vertical direction was found to be a significant deformation mode. The thermally induced deformation behavior of the micro-assembly device was modeled by finite element analysis (FEA). Both thermal-electric analysis and thermal stress analysis were conducted on a 3D finite element model of the device. It is shown that the experimental results were able to validate the finite element analysis results.