Hydrostatic stresses of copper dual-damascene interconnects are calculated by a commercial finite element software in this paper. The analytical work is performed to examine the effects of different low-k (k is permittivity) dielectrics, barrier layer and aspect ratio of via on hydrostatic stress distribution in the copper interconnects. The results of calculation indicate that the hydrostatic stresses are highly non-uniform throughout the copper interconnects and the highest tensile hydrostatic stress exists on the top interface of lower level interconnect near via. Both the high coefficient of thermal expansion and the low elastic modulus of the low-k dielectrics and barrier layer can decrease the highest hydrostatic stress on the top interface, which can improve the reliability of the copper interconnects. © Shanghai Jiaotong University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011.