Reliability investigation of semiconductor coolers

The life tests on the thermoelectric shock of semiconductor coolers show that the life of semiconductor coolers follows the Weibull distribution. After the early failed devices are removed, the failure rule of the devices can be described as an exponential distribution. The main failure mode is the crack between electric couple material and welding pad. The failure mechanism is the orientated incline and easy splitting of the thermoelectric materials and the stress of substrate deformation due to the temperature difference between the two sides of the cooler. The reliability of the devices can be increased by using multilayer metallization in electric couple welding