The effect of thermal cycling on bond strength and residual stress at the interface between benzocyclobutene (BCB) and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposited (PECVD) silicon dioxide (SiO2) coated silicon wafers were evaluated by four point bending and wafer curvature techniques. Wafers were bonded using a pre-established baseline process. Thermal cycling was done between room temperature and a maximum peak temperature. In thermal cycling performed with 350 and 400 ℃ peak temperature, the bond strength increased substantially during the first thermal cycle. The increase in bond strength is attributed to the relaxation in residual stress by the condensation reaction of the PECVD SiO2: this relaxation leads to increases in deformation energy due to residual stress and bond strength.