Synchrotron X-Ray Topography (SXRT) has been uniquely applied to nondestructively reveal and evaluate the damage throughout the depth of the wafer, caused by the deposition of source/gate/drain metallization and of so-called “passivation” dielectric layers on power Al ₀.₂₂Ga₀.₇₈As/In₀.₂₁Ga₀.₇₉As pseudomorphic HEMT's. Device metallization is visible due to the stress imposed on the underlying substrate and is detected as a strain field by SXRT. Experimental results are in good agreement with simulation. The quality and detail of the initial control topographs disappear when the Si₃N₄ dielectric layer is deposited. This is believed due to the passivating layer introducing such strain into the crystal that it overwhelms the metallization strain, in addition to producing a significant amount of stress-induced defect and dislocation generation