A method to examine the design of test interconnect structures used in micro-scale stress measurements was sought in this study. Three-dimensional finite element analyses of thermal stresses in metal interconnects with various geometrical features were carried out. Aluminum lines with different aspect ratios, passivated and unpassivated, bearing the L- and T-shaped angles that result in local variations in tensile stress, were characterized. The evolution of stresses and stress gradient along the line Was quantified. Implications to the design of test metallization structures for spatially resolved stress measurements were discussed. The effects of corner curvature were shown to be confined only to a small area so the stress pattern is dominated,by the global: line geometry. Examples of the stress profile in a voided metal line were also given, which illustrate The extent of stress gradient expected to be encountered in measurements if the:line contains voids.