Abstract:

Driven by the trend of device miniaturization and high-density integration, the interaction between adjacent electrodes has become a critical factor affecting the interfacial reliability of thermoelectric (TE) structures. This study investigates the influence of adjoining electrode interactions on the interfacial response of a multi-electrode/TE substrate structure, including interfacial stresses and stress intensity factors at the electrode ends. To solve the corresponding boundary-value problem, the Fourier transforms are adopted to derive a governing integro-differential equation for the interfacial shear stress in multi-electrode systems, incorporating the TE effects as generalized forces on the right-hand side. The results show that both the interfacial tension and transverse stress in the electrodes are significantly affected by the presence of adjacent electrodes. The interaction between neighboring electrodes diminishes as their spacing increases or when an adhesive interlayer is introduced. Furthermore, the softer and thinner electrodes, the softer and thicker adhesive interlayer, and the smaller TE loads are found to be beneficial for improving the interfacial performance. These findings may contribute to the accurate measurement in surface sensors and layout design of multi-point health monitoring systems for TE structures.

Key words: thermoelectric (TE) material, multiple electrodes, adhesive interlayer, interface behavior