A new finite element approach to stress analysis in microfabrication technology

It is well known that the standard displacement-based finite element approa ch to viscoelastic stress analysis in microfabrication technology is suscep tible to the volumetric locking and highly oscillatory pressure solutions. As an effective remedy for these problems, a new finite element approach ba sed on separate weak statements for the displacement and pressure is propos ed in this paper. Apart from the various existing techniques, the proposed approach is inherently free from the constraints imposed on the selection o f discrete approximation spaces and permits a robust and stable discretisat ion based on piecewise linear Galerkin elements. The accuracy and stability of the proposed methodology has been tested in numerical experiments invol ving stress analysis problems from microfabrication deposition and native f ilm growing processes. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.