Theory and experiment of large numerical aperture objective Raman microscopy: Application to the stress-tensor determination in strained cubic materials

We present the theory underlying the large numerical aperture objective micro-Raman backscattering experiment and apply it to the elaboration of a characterization methodology for the determination of the stress tensor in strained cubic semiconductor structures. The presented stress characterization technique consists in monitoring the variations of the stress-sensitive optical phonon peak position and linewidth while rotating stepwise the sample about its normal. The practical application of the technique is illustrated on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) microelectronic structure demonstrating a plane stress-tensor determination.