Correlation of Thermoelectric and Spin Properties in Magnetic Oxides

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Correlation of Thermoelectric and Spin Properties in Magnetic Oxides University of Zaragoza Master in Physics and Physical Technologies Correlation of thermoelectric and spin properties in magnetic oxides Author: Supervisors: Alberto Dra. Myriam H. Aguirre Anad´onBarcelona Dr. Rafael Ramos Amigo June 23, 2013 Contents 1 Introduction 3 2 Thermoelectrics 6 2.1 Seebeck and Peltier effects . 6 2.2 Thermal conductivity . 7 2.3 Thermopiles and thermocouples . 8 2.4 Figure of merit . 8 2.5 Nernst Ettingshausen effect . 10 2.6 Anomalous Nernst effect . 11 3 Experimental techniques 11 3.1 Magnetic characterization . 11 3.2 Thermal transport measurements . 12 3.2.1 Seebeck effect and Thermal conductivity measurements 12 3.2.2 Electrical conductivity measurements . 13 3.2.3 Nernst effect measurements . 14 4 Results 16 4.1 Bismuth . 16 4.2 Magnetite . 19 5 Conclusions 24 1 INTRODUCTION Alberto Anad´onBarcelona Abstract Thermoelectrics are a potentially transformative power generation technology because they possess the property to convert directly heat into an electric voltage. In addition, thermoelectrics are a pollution- free method for generating energy. Until last decade, efficiency of thermoelectric materials has remained low, but due to the study of nanostructured materials they are becoming promising for commercial use. In this work we will be introduced in the world of thermoelectric characterization. For this purpose we are going to perform thermal, transport, thermoelectric and magnetic measurements in bulk single crystal magnetite and polycrystalline bismuth. 1 Introduction Power generation of renewable energy is one of the most important challenges for science and technology. Fossil fuel combustion is an inefficient way of generating energy, since only 25 % of the generated energy is usable [6]. The remaining 75 % is lost by different mechanisms: radiation and friction (5 %); exhaust gas (40 %) and dissipation in the engine (30 %). One way to exploit this wasted energy is the use of thermoelectric (TE) devices. Previously, TE materials were used mainly in concrete applications (see figure 1), but in order to improve waste-heat recovery technologies, TE devices are becoming more prominent. The origin of thermoelectricity dates back to 1822 when the Seebeck Effect[23] (SE) was discovered giving rise to devices such as thermocouples, very extended for measuring temperature nowadays. SE consist of a voltage difference that appears within any conducting material that is subjected to a temperature gradient ∆V = S∆T showing a proportional relation, where S is the Seebeck coefficient. Twelve years after, Jean Peltier discovered the reverse effect[18]. He found that the passage of an electric current (I) through a thermocouple produces a small heating or cooling depending on its direction q = πI; (1) where q and π are the heat flux and Peltier coefficient, respectively. In 1851, W. Thomson predicted theoretically (and observed experimen- tally) when a thermal gradient and an electrical current are induced to a conductor whose S magnitude is variable with temperature, a heating or cooling process is produced, due to the S variation[10]. The evolution of the heat flow can be described by equation 2. q_ = −τJ · rT; (2) Page 3 of 28 1 INTRODUCTION Alberto Anad´onBarcelona Figure 1: Robotic rover Curiosity is powered by a radioisotope TE generator. Radioisotope power systems are generators that produce electricity from the decay of radioactive isotopes. Heat given off by the decay of this isotope is converted into electricity by a TE system, providing constant power for fourteen years, the lifetime of the isotope used. Autor and copyright: NASA whereq _, τ, J are the heat flow per second, Thomson coefficient and cur- rent density though a homogeneus conductor. Thomson also related and summarized all the three effects in the following relations (1854)[1]: dS τ = T (3) dT π = ST (4) Today's thermoelectrics aim at increasing the heat to electricity conver- sion efficiency. The TE efficiency in power generation mode is defined in TH −TC equation 5[6], and is limited by the Carnot efficiency, C = . TE effi- TH ciency in power generation mode is calculated as the ratio of the electrical energy extracted from the source to the quantity of heat applied[10]. p 1 + ZTM − 1 = C p ; (5) 1 + ZTM + TC =TH Where TH ;TC and TM are the hot, cold and average temperatures respec- tively. An important magnitude to obtain the efficiency of a TE material is S2σT the figure of merit ZT = κ , where σ represents the electrical conductivity, T the absolute temperature and κ the thermal conductivity. We will define these quantities more precisely in section 2. For real applications it is desirable to have a figure of merit greater than one for the efficiency to be large enough. In literature, a ZT higher than Page 4 of 28 1 INTRODUCTION Alberto Anad´onBarcelona two[28] has been estimated for p and n type TE materials by reduction of the thermal conductivity through heat transport control in nanostructured devices. Another novel approach to achieve higher thermoelectric efficiency is the study of thermoelectric effects in magnetic materials such as the Nernst Effect (NE)[30] or the recently discovered Spin Seebeck Effect (SSE)[26][20], which have already shown potential for possible applications[27]. Classic thermoelectric materials are usually semiconductor alloys, as we will see later. Most of the materials used are Bi2T e3 and Sb2T e3 alloys, since they have the greatest ZT value for n- and p-type bulk materials at room temperature. In this work we propose to study thermoelectric and thermomagnetic phenomena in Bismuth and Magnetite. Bismuth is a semimetal with one of the lowest thermal conductivity ob- served for metals (7:97 W/mK at room temperature). An image of a bismuth crystal can be seen in figure 2a. It was the material used by Nernst and Et- tingshausen in the discovery of the Nernst effect[8] (NE). Bismuth has also the largest NE coefficient[2] observed for correlated metals due to excep- tionally low value of carrier density and also due to a very long electronic mean-free path in clean single crystals. Bismuth is also the most naturally diamagnetic material and when it is deposited in thin films with a thickness comparable to its Fermi wavelength a transition to semiconductor occurs due to electron confinement. Magnetite is known since ancient Greece to attract metals. An image of a magnetite crystal can be seen in figure 2b. It is the strongest natural permanent magnet (ferrimagnetic material) with a Curie temperature of 858 K. It is an iron oxide (F e3O4) with inverse spinel structure (cubic) and for- 2+ 3+ 2− mula A B2 O4 . The oxygen anions are arranged in a face centered cubic lattice and the A and B cations occupy 1/8 of the tetrahedral and 1/2 of the octahedral interstices respectively. In magnetite the A sites are occupied by half of the F e3+ ions, while the B sites are occupied by equal number of F e2+ and F e3+ ions arranged in rows along the <110> directions (the double exchange between these ions is the main reason for magnetite being an electric conductor at room temperature). Magnetite also presents a metal to insulator transition at around 125 K called the Verwey transition. Page 5 of 28 2 THERMOELECTRICS Alberto Anad´onBarcelona (a) (b) Figure 2: Bismuth crystals (a) and magnetite crystal (b). 2 Thermoelectrics 2.1 Seebeck and Peltier effects - Heat flux + Hot Cold Carrier Current TA - + TB Figure 3: Detail of the Seebeck effect configuration. Plus and minus sign represent the relative electric potential sign with respect to the centre if dominant carriers are electrons. An electrical voltage difference (∆V ) appears within any conducting ma- terial that is subjected to a temperature gradient; this is called the Seebeck effect[23], and was discovered by the Baltic German physicist Thomas Jo- hann Seebeck in 1822. Seebeck saw that a compass needle was deflected when a temperature gradient was applied on two different metals connected in a closed loop. He did not understood the SE in the terms it is interpreted nowadays, but rather as a magnetic effect, so he called the phenomenon the thermomagnetic effect. Later on, it was discovered by Hans Christian Ørsted that the deflection was caused by a magnetic field generated by an electrical current in the loop, discarding the magnetic nature of the effect. Page 6 of 28 2 THERMOELECTRICS Alberto Anad´onBarcelona SE is due to carrier diffusion from the hot to the cold sides[5]. Figure 3 shows a diagram of SE. The Seebeck coeficient, S, is defined as the instan- taneous rate of change of the SE with respect to temperature (eq. 6) at a constant temperature. dV ! S = (6) dT T If S is independent from temperature, equation 6 can be written as: ∆V = S∆T (7) Where ∆T is the temperature difference between the hot and cold sides. In SI the Seebeck coefficient is usually expressed in µV=K. The inverse effect was discovered by French physicist Jean Charles Athanase Peltier in 1834. When a voltage difference is applied to a conducting ma- terial, a thermal gradient may appear in it. As T.J. Seebeck, Peltier saw the effect by applying a current (I) to a loop with two different conducting materials. In the junction between them heat was absorbed or generated depending on the current direction. This is the working principle of the thermopile (see figure 4). The heat flux in a Peltier junction between two conducting materials A and B is given by equation 8 q = (SATA − SBTB)I (8) 2.2 Thermal conductivity The thermal conductivity (κ) is the coefficient that relates heat flux (heat flowing through unit area every second) and temperature gradient for isotropic materials, as it is written in equation 9.
Recommended publications
  • Design and Construction of a Nernst Effect Measuring System
    University of New Orleans ScholarWorks@UNO University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations Dissertations and Theses Summer 8-6-2013 Design and Construction of a Nernst Effect Measuring System Warner E. Sevin University of New Orleans, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td Part of the Condensed Matter Physics Commons Recommended Citation Sevin, Warner E., "Design and Construction of a Nernst Effect Measuring System" (2013). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 1684. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1684 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by ScholarWorks@UNO with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights- holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Design and Construction of a Nernst Effect Measuring System A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of New Orleans in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science In Applied Physics By Warner Earl Sevin B.S. Loyola University New Orleans, 2011 August 2013 Table of Contents List of Figures iv List of Tables v Abstract vi Chapter 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Intrinsic Anomalous Nernst Effect Amplified by Disorder in a Half
    Intrinsic Anomalous Nernst Effect Amplified by Disorder in a Half-Metallic Semimetal Linchao Ding, Jahyun Koo, Liangcai Xu, Xiaokang Li, Xiufang Lu, Lingxiao Zhao, Qi Wang, Qiangwei Yin, Hechang Lei, Binghai Yan, et al. To cite this version: Linchao Ding, Jahyun Koo, Liangcai Xu, Xiaokang Li, Xiufang Lu, et al.. Intrinsic Anomalous Nernst Effect Amplified by Disorder in a Half-Metallic Semimetal. Physical Review X, American Physical Society, 2019, 9 (4), pp.041061. 10.1103/PhysRevX.9.041061. hal-02434941 HAL Id: hal-02434941 https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-02434941 Submitted on 10 Jan 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. PHYSICAL REVIEW X 9, 041061 (2019) Intrinsic Anomalous Nernst Effect Amplified by Disorder in a Half-Metallic Semimetal Linchao Ding ,1 Jahyun Koo,2 Liangcai Xu,1 Xiaokang Li ,1 Xiufang Lu,1 Lingxiao Zhao,1 Qi Wang,3 † ‡ Qiangwei Yin,3 Hechang Lei,3 Binghai Yan ,2,* Zengwei Zhu ,1, andKamranBehnia 4,5, 1Wuhan National High Magnetic Field Center and School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China 2Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel 3Department of Physics and Beijing Key Laboratory of Opto-electronic Functional Materials & Micro-nano Devices, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, China 4Laboratoire de Physique et Etude des Mat´eriaux (CNRS/Sorbonne Universit´e), Ecole Sup´erieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles, 10 Rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris, France 5II.
    [Show full text]
  • Potential of Thermoelectric Power Generation Using Anomalous Nernst Effect in Magnetic Materials
    Scripta Materialia 111 (2016) 29–32 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Scripta Materialia journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scriptamat Viewpoint Paper Potential of thermoelectric power generation using anomalous Nernst effect in magnetic materials Yuya Sakuraba National Institute for Materials Science, Sengen 1-2-1, Tsukuba, Japan article info abstract Article history: This article introduces the concept and advantage of thermoelectric power generation (TEG) using Received 27 March 2015 anomalous Nernst effect (ANE). The three-dimensionality of ANE can largely simplify a thermopile struc- Revised 27 April 2015 ture and realize TEG systems using heat sources with a non-flat surface. The improvement of ZT can be Accepted 29 April 2015 expected because of the orthogonal relationship between thermal and electric conductivities. The calcu- Available online 3 June 2015 lations of an achievable electric power predicted that an improvement of thermopower by one order of magnitude would open up a usage of practical applications. Keywords: Ó 2015 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Thermoelectric power generation Anomalous Nernst effect Spincaloritornics 1. Introduction Nernst effect is a three-dimensional effect where the electric field ~ occurs to the perpendicular direction to both Bex and rT. Since the Seebeck effect (SE), which originates from a diffusion of charged magnitude of Nernst effect can be enlarged by increasing magnetic carrier excited by applying a temperature gradient to conductive field Bex, Nernst effect has been studied to enhance thermoelectric materials, is a representative thermoelectric phenomenon. power generation and cooling effects by applying strong mag- Thermoelectric power generation (TEG) using SE has been netic field [1–5].
    [Show full text]
  • Thermal Energy Conversion Utilizing Magnetization Dynamics and Two-Carrier Effects Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment
    Thermal Energy Conversion Utilizing Magnetization Dynamics and Two-Carrier Effects Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Sarah June Watzman Graduate Program in Mechanical Engineering The Ohio State University 2018 Dissertation Committee Joseph P. Heremans, Advisor Nandini Trivedi Fengyuan Yang Igor Adamovich Copyrighted by Sarah June Watzman 2018 Abstract This dissertation seeks to contribute to the field of thermoelectrics, here utilizing magnetization dynamics in two-carrier systems, employing unconventional thermoelectric materials. Thermoelectric devices offer fully solid-state conversion of waste heat into usable electric energy or fully solid-state cooling. The goal of this dissertation is to elucidate key transport phenomena in ferromagnetic transition metals and Weyl semimetals in order to positively contribute to the overarching effort of using thermoelectric materials as a clean energy source. The first subject of this dissertation is magnon drag in Fe, Co, and Ni. Magnon drag is shown to dominate the thermopower of elemental Fe from 2 to 80 K and of elemental Co from 150 to 600 K; it is also shown to contribute to the thermopower of elemental Ni from 50 to 500 K. Two theoretical models are presented for magnon-drag thermopower. One is a hydrodynamic theory based purely on non-relativistic electron-magnon scattering, and the other is based on microscopic spin-motive forces. In spite of their very different origins, the two give similar predictions for pure metals at low temperature, providing a semi-quantitative explanation for the observed thermopower of elemental Fe and Co without adjustable parameters.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Nernst Effect in the Electron-Doped Cuprate Superconductor La2
    Nernst effect in the electron-doped cuprate superconductor La2-xCexCuO4 P. R. Mandal1, 2*, Tarapada Sarkar1, 2*, J. S. Higgins1, 2, Richard L. Greene1, 2 1Center for Nanophysics & Advanced Materials, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA. 2Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA. We report a systematic study of the Nernst effect in films of the electron doped cuprate superconductor La2-xCexCuO4 (LCCO) as a function of temperature and magnetic field (up to 14 T) over a range of doping from underdoped (x=0.08) to overdoped (x=0.16). We have determined the characteristic field scale HC2* of superconducting fluctuation which is found to track the domelike dependence of superconductivity (TC). The fall of HC2* and TC with underdoping is most likely due to the onset of long range antiferromagnetic order. We also report the temperature onset, Tonset, of superconducting fluctuations above TC. For optimally doped x=0.11 Tonset (≅ 39 K) is high compared to TC (26 K). For higher doping Tonset decreases and tends to zero along with the critical temperature at the end of the superconducting dome. The superconducting gap closely tracks HC2* measured from the temperature and field dependent Nernst signal. Correspondence: [email protected] *These authors have contributed equally to this work. 1 I. Introduction The nature of the normal state and the origin of the high TC- superconductor (HTSC) in the cuprates is still a major unsolved problem. In the hole-doped cuprates a mysterious “pseudo gap” is found, whose origin and relation to the HTSC is still not understood.
    [Show full text]
  • A Steady Approach
    editorial A steady approach From the discovery of the Seebeck efect in the nineteenth century to its application in the latest space probes, thermoelectrics have carved out a niche for reliable applications. t was the so-called seven minutes of in heating or cooling. A Perspective by terror. The NASA Perseverance rover Zhifeng Ren and colleagues discusses recent Isuccessfully completed atmospheric progress in materials for thermoelectric entry and a controlled soft landing on Mars. cooling. In comparison with thermoelectric Its mission is to use its large suite of tools power generation, which relies on a large to assess not only the past habitability of temperature gradient with the hot side the Jezero Crater but also to select which several hundred kelvin hotter than the cool mineral samples to cache for a future side, thermoelectric coolers are typically sample-return mission. This will require An artist’s impression of the Perseverance rover used near ambient temperature, reducing a sizable and stable energy source for a on Mars. Credit: Neko / Alamy Stock Photo thermal stress on the thermocouple. The long-range, long-duration drive, and this researchers note that the low-temperature energy supply is provided by the heat thermoelectric properties of many materials emitted by PuO2 pellets during radioactive are yet to be comprehensively investigated decay in a radioisotope thermoelectric In this issue, a Letter by Yuya Sakuraba and so have been overlooked for cooling generator. This uses a thermocouple, and colleagues outlines an alternative applications. They also note that a large composed of two different thermoelectric methodology for large transverse mobility difference ratio between electrons materials, to generate voltage.
    [Show full text]
  • Transport Phenomena in Spin Caloritronics
    No. 2] Proc. Jpn. Acad., Ser. B 97 (2021) 69 Review Transport phenomena in spin caloritronics † By Ken-ichi UCHIDA*1,*2,*3, (Edited by Hiroyuki SAKAKI, M.J.A.) Abstract: The interconversion between spin, charge, and heat currents is being actively studied from the viewpoints of both fundamental physics and thermoelectric applications in the field of spin caloritronics. This field is a branch of spintronics, which has developed rapidly since the discovery of the thermo-spin conversion phenomenon called the spin Seebeck effect. In spin caloritronics, various thermo-spin conversion phenomena and principles have subsequently been discovered and magneto-thermoelectric effects, thermoelectric effects unique to magnetic materials, have received renewed attention with the advances in physical understanding and thermal/ thermoelectric measurement techniques. However, the existence of various thermo-spin and magneto-thermoelectric conversion phenomena with similar names may confuse non-specialists. Thus, in this Review, the basic behaviors, spin-charge-heat current conversion symmetries, and functionalities of spin-caloritronic phenomena are summarized, which will help new entrants to learn fundamental physics, materials science, and application studies in spin caloritronics. Keywords: spin caloritronics, spin current, spin Seebeck effect, spin Peltier effect, magneto- thermoelectric effect, magnetic material mainly focused on thermoelectric power generation 1. Introduction based on the Seebeck effect and electronic cooling Thermoelectric effects enable direct interconver- based on the Peltier effect. sion between heat and electricity.1) One of the In addition to the Seebeck and Peltier effects, representative thermoelectric effects is the Seebeck various thermoelectric transport phenomena appear effect, discovered by T. J. Seebeck in 1821. This effect in a conductor in the presence of a magnetic field H converts a heat current into a charge current in metals or in a magnetic material with spontaneous magnet- and semiconductors.
    [Show full text]
  • Large Magnetothermopower and Anomalous Nernst Effect in Hfte5
    PHYSICAL REVIEW B 100, 115201 (2019) Large magnetothermopower and anomalous Nernst effect in HfTe5 Junfeng Hu ,1,2 Marco Caputo,3 Eduardo Bonini Guedes,2,3 Sa Tu,1 Edoardo Martino,2 Arnaud Magrez,2 Helmuth Berger,2 J. Hugo Dil,2,3 Haiming Yu,1,* and Jean-Philippe Ansermet2,† 1Fert Beijing Institute, BDBC, School of Microelectronics, Beihang University, Xueyuan Road 37, Beijing 100191, China 2Institute of Physics, station 3, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne-EPFL, Switzerland 3Photon Science Department, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland (Received 20 June 2019; published 12 September 2019) Topological quantum materials have stimulated growing attention because they reveal novel aspects of condensed matter physics and point to new opportunities in materials science, in particular for thermoelectrics. Here, we experimentally study thermoelectric effects in HfTe5, which was predicted to be at the boundary between strong and weak topological insulators. The magnetic field dependence of HfTe5 thermoelectric properties attests to the anomalous character of this material, supported by our angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements. At 36 K, the thermopower of −277 μV/K is reached when a field of 0.4 Tesla is applied, while it is −157 μV/K at zero field and a large Nernst coefficient up to 600 μV/Kis observed at 100 K with magnetic field of 4 T. A possible topologically nontrivial band structure is proposed to account for our observations. Our results constitute a highly constraining set of data for any model of transport based on HfTe5 band structure. Furthermore, the extraordinary thermoelectric properties suggest a new paradigm for the development of thermoelectric applications based on layered transition-metal chalcogenides.
    [Show full text]
  • Thermomagnetic and Galvanomagnetic Effects R
    Ames Laboratory ISC Technical Reports Ames Laboratory 9-1957 Thermomagnetic and galvanomagnetic effects R. D. Redin Iowa State College Follow this and additional works at: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ameslab_iscreports Part of the Physics Commons Recommended Citation Redin, R. D., "Thermomagnetic and galvanomagnetic effects" (1957). Ames Laboratory ISC Technical Reports. 176. http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ameslab_iscreports/176 This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Ames Laboratory at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Ames Laboratory ISC Technical Reports by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thermomagnetic and galvanomagnetic effects Abstract A review is given of the various thermomagnetic and galvanomagnetic effects. The oefficc ients and relations between coefficients are listed for both metals and semiconductors. A quantitative analysis is given of the error in Hall effect measurements owing to non-isothermal conditions. Disciplines Physics This report is available at Iowa State University Digital Repository: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ameslab_iscreports/176 --------------------------------~--~ -~-~ Physical ...... c:~-.c~s Rc ding Roon..., Physics and Mathematics (UC-34) UNCLASSIFIED ISC-907 UNITED STATES ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT REPORT · , ~, THERMOMAGNETIC AND GALVANOMAGNETIC EFFECTS R, D. REDIN Se ptember, 195'7 Ames La boratory at I owa State Co11ege F . H. Spedding, Director Co ntract W-7405 eng-82 UNCLASSIFIED 2 ISC-907 This report is distributed according to the category Physics and Mathematics (UC-34) as listed in TID-4500_, February 15_, 1958. Legal Notice This report was prepared as an account of Government sponsored vvork.
    [Show full text]
  • A Thermoelectric Investigation of Selected Lead Salts
    A Thermoelectric Investigation of Selected Lead Salts and the Spin-Seebeck Effect in Semiconductors A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Christopher M. Jaworski Graduate Program in Mechanical Engineering The Ohio State University 2012 Dissertation Committee: Joseph P. Heremans, Advisor Sandip Mazumder Roberto Myers Walter Lempert © Christopher M. Jaworski 2012 Abstract The dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit, zT, is used to characterize the conversion efficiency of thermoelectric materials. In this dissertation, we include experimental results on new p-type semiconducting alloys based on lead telluride that have higher zT values than historical materials. Through alloying PbTe:Tl with sulfur, we demonstrate an increase in zT over the parent material PbTe:Tl. Next, we remove the toxic element Tl from the PbTe/PbS alloy and retain the high efficiency via doping heavy valence band in PbTe, a separate mechanism than the high-zT resonant level doping achieved by the impurity Tl. We present experimental evidence relevant to the valence band structure of PbTe alloys at elevated temperature and demonstrate that these alloys remain direct gap semiconductors at temperatures relevant to automotive thermoelectric waste heat recovery (<850K). Secondly, we report the first confirmation measurement of a new effect – the spin- Seebeck effect – in thin films of GaMnAs, of work by researchers at Tohoku University two years prior on NiFe. The spin-Seebeck effect is a thermally driven spin distribution – the spin analog to the charge-Seebeck effect, and is measured using the inverse spin Hall effect in platinum transducers that are attached to the spin-polarized material.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Thermodynamics and Thermoelectricity Christophe Goupil, Henni Ouerdane, Knud Zabrocki, Wolfgang Seifert†, Nicki F
    1 1 Thermodynamics and Thermoelectricity Christophe Goupil, Henni Ouerdane, Knud Zabrocki, Wolfgang Seifert†, Nicki F. Hinsche, and Eckhard Müller 1.1 Milestones of Thermoelectricity Thermoelectric effects result from the interference of electrical current and heat flow in various materials. This interaction, characterized by a coupling parame- ter called thermopower, allows the direct conversion of heat to electricity [1–4]; conversely, cooling may be achieved by the application of a voltage across a ther- moelectric material. Almost 200 years after the first discoveries in thermoelectrics by Seebeck in 1823 [5–7], it is now again a very active period of observing thermoelectric (TE) phenomena, materials, and their application in devices. The search for green tech- nologies, for example, converting waste heat generated by industrial facilities and car engines into usable power, pushes scientists to pick up “old” effects with new classes of materials with higher TE efficiency to develop practical applications using the advantages of TE power generation. For an overview of a variety of appli- cations, see, for example, the following books and review articles [8–33]. A similar situation was encountered in the late 1950s when the usage of semiconductors as TE materials was the origin for a revival of thermoelectrics [34]. This is directly connected with the investigations by Goldsmid and Douglas [35] and the Ioffe group [36], who considered both thermodynamics and solid- state approaches. They extended the previous developments to the microscopic area, opening the door for material engineering and practical applications [1, 2, 37–55]. A recommendable overview on the early years of TE research had been given by Finn [52, 56, 57].
    [Show full text]
  • Scalable Nernst Thermoelectric Power Using a Coiled Galfenol Wire
    Scalable Nernst thermoelectric power using a coiled Galfenol wire Zihao Yang1, Emilio A. Codecido2, Jason Marquez3, Yuanhua Zheng4, Joseph P. Heremans2,4 and Roberto C. Myers1,3,4a) 1 Electrical and Computer Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 2 Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 3Materials Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 4Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio Email: [email protected] , Web site: http://myersgroup.engineering.osu.edu The Nernst thermopower usually is considered far too weak in most metals for waste heat recovery. However, its transverse orientation gives it an advantage over the Seebeck effect on non-flat surfaces. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the scalable generation of a Nernst voltage in an air-cooled metal wire coiled around a hot cylinder. In this geometry, a radial temperature gradient generates an azimuthal electric field in the coil. A Galfenol (Fe0.85Ga0.15) wire is wrapped around a cartridge heater, and the voltage drop across the wire is measured as a function of axial magnetic field. As expected, the Nernst voltage scales linearly with the length of the wire. Based on heat conduction and fluid dynamic equations, finite-element method is used to calculate the temperature gradient across the Galfenol wire and determine the Nernst coefficient. A giant Nernst coefficient of -2.6 μV/KT at room temperature is estimated, in agreement with measurements on bulk Galfenol. We expect that the giant Nernst effect in Galfenol arises from its magnetostriction, presumably through enhanced magnon-phonon coupling. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of a transverse thermoelectric generator capable of scalable output power from non-flat heat sources.
    [Show full text]