Algorithm for solutions of the thermal diffusion equation in a stratified medium with a modulated heating source

Thermal diffusion in stratified media is important in many applications such as electronic packaging, optical disk recording, and nondestructive evaluation. A straightforward 'back of the envelope' algorithm is presented for solving the one-dimensional thermal diffusion equation in a stratified medium containing a modulated heating source located at an arbitrary point; interface thermal resistance is easily incorporated. This solution is the Green function for computing the temperature distribution due to a distributed heat source. The solution for the surface temperature of a delaminated film on a substrate is presented as an example of the utility of the method.