Large tensile stresses usually exist in metallic interconnect lines on silicon substrates as a result of thermal mismatch. When a current is subsequently passed any divergence of atomic flux can create superimposed stress variations along the line. Together, these stresses can significantly influence the growth of voids and therefore affect interconnect reliability. In this work, a high‐resolution (∼2 &mgr;m) optical spectroscopy method has been used to measure the localized stresses around passivated aluminum lines on a silicon wafer, both as‐fabricated and after electromigration testing. The method is based on the piezospectroscopic properties of silicon, specifically the frequency shift of the Raman line at 520 R cm−1. By focusing a laser beam at points adjacent to the aluminum lines, the Raman signal was excited and collected. The stresses in the aluminum lines can then be derived from the stresses in the silicon using finite element methods. Large variations of stress along an electromigration‐tested line were observed and compared to a theoretical model based on differences in effective diffusivities from grain to grain in a polycrystalline interconnect line. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.