Description:
The paper examines the problem of film stress applying a correct three dimensional model. The results are compared with two different forms of Stoney´s equation existing in the Litera-ture and being widely used in the determination of stresses in thin films. It is shown theoretically that only one of the forms is based on an adequate model and yields accurate results whereas the other causes errors of about 30-40 % for typical substrate materi-als. In addition limits for the applicability of the correct Stoney equation are given.