Thermoelectric effects in spin field-effect transistors

We investigate the thermoelectric effects in a spin field-effect transistor with ferromagnetic leads held at different temperatures. The thermopower S and thermoelectric figure of merit ZT oscillate with the increase of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling strength. The oscillation amplitude of ZT decreases with increasing the spin polarization. S and ZT are strongly influenced by the interfacial barrier strength Z, exhibiting a nonmonotonous change with Z. The thermoelectric effects are also manipulated by the magnetization configuration of the ferromagnetic leads. It is expected that the present study of the thermoelectric effects is helpful in the design of thermoelectric devices.     

Unambiguous detection of monopoles

Summary The fission of a vortex line along the trajectory of a monopole in a superconducting medium is an unambiguous signature of a monopole. The numbern of the (stable) daughter vortices determines the monopole strengthg withg=2nφ/4π where ϕ₀=2.07·10⁻⁷ G cm².

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Riassunto La fissione di una linea di vortice lungo la traiettoria di un monopolo in un mezzo superconduttore è indice sicuro della segnatura di un monopolo. Il numeron di vortici figli (stabili) determina la forza del monopolog cong=nϕ₀/4π, dove ϕ₀=2.07·10⁻⁷ G cm².

     

Thermoelectric properties of indium-filled skutterudites prepared by combining solvothermal synthesis and melting

Indium-filled skutterudites with nominal compositions of In _x Co₄Sb₁₂ (x=0,0.1,0.2,0.3) were prepared by combining solvothermal synthesis and melting. The bulk samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity were measured from room temperature up to ∼773 K. Hall effect measurements were performed at room temperature. The thermoelectric properties of the samples were significantly influenced by filling In into CoSb₃. The dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT, increased with increasing temperature and reached a maximum value of ∼0.79 for In_0.1Co₄Sb₁₂ at 573 K.     

Thermodynamic anomaly of the free damped quantum particle: the bath perspective

By varying the orientation of the applied magnetic field with respect to the normal of a two-dimensional electron gas, the chemical potential and the specific heat reveal persistent spin splitting in all field ranges. The corresponding shape of the thermodynamic quantities distinguishes whether the Rashba spin-orbit interaction (RSOI), the Zeeman term or both dominate the splitting. The interplay of the tilting of the magnetic field and RSOI resulted to an amplified splitting even in weak fields. The effects of changing the RSOI strength and the Landau level broadening are also investigated.     

Algebraic classification of ℂP n instanton solutions

The finite condition for two-dimensional ℂP ⁿ models is discussed noting that one can impose boundary conditions such that the domain of the field is a compact Riemann surface S _g. Holomorphic maps φ: S _g →ℂP ⁿ give finite energy solutions of the classical field equations, which are classified according to standard methods of algebraic geometry. The moduli problem is discussed in detail for S _g =ℂP ¹=S ².     

Influence of Thomson effect on the resultant local Seebeck coefficient in thermoelectric composite materials

The resultant local Seebeck coefficient α _R (=α _S−α _T) at the interface of a thermoelement has not yet been measured, although it is an important factor governing the thermoelectric efficiency, where α _S is the local Seebeck coefficient and α _T is the one caused by the Thomson effect. It is shown in this paper that α _S, α _T, and α _R of the p- and n-type Cu/Bi–Te/Cu composites are obtained analytically and experimentally on the assumption that the local temperature of the composite on which the temperature difference ΔT is imposed varies linearly with changes in position along the composite. They were indeed estimated as a function of position from the local experimental data of R,ΔI,ΔT, and V generated by applying an additional current of ±I to the composite, where R is the electrical resistance and ΔI is a current generated by the composite. As a result, it was found that the absolute values of α _S at the hot interface of the p- and n-type composites are approximately 1.5 and 1.4 times higher than their lowest values in the middle region of the composite, respectively, while those of α _T are less than 8% of α _S all over the composite and are so small that the relation α _R≈α _S can be held. We thus succeeded in measuring α _R at the interfaces of the composite.     

Slow Motion of Charges¶Interacting Through the Maxwell Field

We study the Abraham model for N charges interacting with the Maxwell field. On the scale of the charge diameter, R _ϕ, the charges are a distance ɛ^-1 R _ϕ apart and have a velocity with ɛ a small dimensionless parameter. We follow the motion of the charges over times of the order ɛ^-3/2 R _ϕ/c and prove that on this time scale their motion is well approximated by the Darwin Lagrangian. The mass is renormalized. The interaction is dominated by the instantaneous Coulomb forces, which are of the order ɛ². The magnetic fields and first order retardation generate the Darwin correction of the order ɛ³. Radiation damping would be of the order ɛ^7/2. Received: 13 January 2000 / Accepted: 4 February 2000     

Composite model of gauge bosons in electroweak interactions

We consider a simple Lagrangian which is constructed by only the preon and antipreon fields. By introducing the auxiliary fields φ_μ, φ _μ ^† , and ϕ_μ, it is shown that φ_μ, φ _μ ^† , and ϕ_μ correspond to the electroweak gauge bosonsW _μ ⁺ ,W _μ ⁻ , andW _μ ³ , respectively, which are composite particles of preons and antipreons.     

Thermoelectric properties of tunnel junctions

The thermoelectric (Seebeck) coefficient α and thermoelectric quality factor (figure of merit) ZT are estimated for a tunnel junction in metals. It is shown that α can be of the order of hundreds of μV/K while ZT can approach values ∼0.1–1. The maxima of α(h) and ZT(h) correspond to a certain width h of the tunnel junction; such h is about a few nanometers. The results we obtained can find applications in the constructions of novel thermoelectric generators.     

Rashba splitting of kinetically bound states in gated HgCdTe surface quantum wells

The Rashba spin–orbit splitting of 2D electron gas in gated HgCdTe surface quantum wells on n-HgCdTe is studied experimentally (by the magneto-capacitance spectroscopy of Landau level method) and theoretically with emphasis on the peculiarities of spectrum at surface densities N_s corresponding to the onset of 2D subbands occupancy, where the regime of kinetic binding is realized. Although the spin–orbit splitting in kinetic confinement regime is small, the “Rashba polarization” Δn/n can achieve 100% because of strong difference in values of cutoff wave vector k_c for different spin-split sub-subbands.     

On the Poisson Limit Theorems of Sinai and Major

Let f(ϕ) be a positive continuous function on 0 ≤ϕ≤Θ, where Θ≤ 2 π, and let ξ be the number of two-dimensional lattice points in the domain Π _R (f) between the curves r=(R+c ₁/R)f(ϕ) and r=(R+c ₂/R)f(ϕ), where c ₁<c ₂ are fixed. Randomizing the function f according to a probability law P, and the parameter R according to the uniform distribution μ _L on the interval [a ₁ L,a ₂ L], Sinai showed that the distribution of ξ under P×μ _L converges to a mixture of the Poisson distributions as L→∞. Later Major showed that for P-almost all f, the distribution of ξ under μ _L converges to a Poisson distribution as L→∞. In this note, we shall give shorter and more transparent proofs to these interesting theorems, at the same time extending the class of P and strengthening the statement of Sinai. Received: 15 June 1999 / Accepted: 11 February 2000     

Energy filtration of charge carriers in a nanostructured material based on bismuth telluride

The dependences of the electrical conductivity and thermopower on the size of grains in a nanocrystalline material based on Bi₂Te₃-Sb₂Te₃ solid solutions of the p type have been investigated theoretically and experimentally. The relaxation time in the case of hole scattering by nanograin boundaries in an isotropic polycrystal has been calculated taking into account the energy dependence of the probability of tunneling of charge carriers and the dependence of the scattering intensity on the nanograin size L _n . A decrease in the probability of boundary scattering with an increase in the energy of charge carriers leads to an increase in the thermopower. The dependences of the thermopower and electrical conductivity on the nanograin size, which have been obtained taking into account the boundary scattering and scattering by acoustic phonons, are in good agreement with experimental data. For the material under consideration, the thermopower coefficient increases by 10–20% compared to the initial solid solution at L _n = 20–30 nm. This can lead to an increase in the thermoelectric figure of merit by 20–40%, provided that the decrease in the electrical conductivity and the decrease in the lattice thermal conductivity compensate each other. Despite the absence of a complete compensation, it has been possible to increase the thermoelectric figure of merit for the samples under investigation to ZT = 1.10–1.12.     

Rashba polarization in HgCdTe inversion layers at large depletion charges

The Rashba effect in metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) structures based on zero-gap HgCdTe is investigated experimentally and theoretically over a wide doping range N_A–N_D=3×10¹⁵–3×10¹⁸ cm⁻³. Increase of doping enlarges the magnitude of the effect at the same 2D concentration and strengthens a gate-voltage dependence of the Rashba splitting. The results demonstrate values of Rashba polarization as high as P_R0.5 and a capability to control the Rashba effect strength at constant electron concentration.     

Dependence of the resultant Seebeck coefficient on the thickness of Bi<Subscript>0.88</Subscript>Sb<Subscript>0.12</Subscript> alloy in welded M/Bi–Sb/M (M = Cu and Ni) composites

The local Seebeck coefficient α _L and the resultant Seebeck coefficient α _R of M/Bi_0.88Sb_0.12/M (M = Cu and Ni) composites with different thicknesses t _Bi–Sb of Bi–Sb alloy were measured as functions of z and T, where T is the absolute temperature, z is the distance from a center of Bi–Sb alloy to the middle point of two probes and α _L and α _R were measured using two probes separated by s=1.0 mm and s=t _Bi−Sb+0.1 mm, respectively. As a result, α _L was enhanced extremely at the position of 0.2–0.3 mm away from the interfaces, while the local temperature along a composite varies linearly with changes in z within Bi–Sb alloy. The local maximum of α _R at 344 K appeared at t _Bi−Sb≈0.9 mm, so that it is expected to increase up to −167 μV/K at t _Bi−Sb=0.87 mm from the expression fitted well to the experimental data, which is 2.1 times as large as the intrinsic α at 344 K of Bi–Sb alloy. Such a local enhancement in α _L would probably be caused by a temperature gradient across the depletion layer formed at the interface. The thermoelectric figure of merit ZT of a composite with an optimum t _Bi−Sb of 0.87 mm is expected to reach the large value of 0.98 at 344 K, which corresponds to 4.5 times as high a value as ZT=0.22 at 344 K of Bi–Sb alloy. It is thus considered that the increase in α _L at the interface is available as a useful mean of further increase in ZT of thermoelectric devices.     

Scaling in dispersion rheology

Summary A nonequilibrium fluid lattice model of concentrated colloidal dispersions is presented to predict the effects of the microstructure, particle interactions, volume fraction (ϕ), frequency (ω), and the longest viscoelastic relaxation time on the complex shear viscosity. In addition to the pair interactions between colloidal particles, the many-body interactions between the particles and the equilibrium microstructure have to be included in the analysis. As ϕ approaches a critical valueφ _c, the fluidity of concentrated dispersions slows down drastically. This percolation thresholdφ _c scales ad (AP)^−0.5, whereA andP are related to the repulsive interparticle potential and microstructure, respectively. Paper presented at the I International Conference on Scaling Concepts and Complex Fluids, Copanello, Italy, July 4–8, 1994.     

Influence of Y3+ doping on the high-temperature transport mechanism and thermoelectric response of misfit-layered Ca3Co4O9

The high-temperature transport and thermoelectric characteristics of Ca_3−x Y _x Co₄O₉ (x=0–0.75) series were studied up to 1000 K. The results reveal that the substitution of Y³⁺ for Ca²⁺ not only increases resistivity but also gradually alters the transport mechanism. The localization of carriers narrows bandwidth, which induces the evolution of the system from metal to variable-range hopping semiconductor and then to thermally activated semiconductor. The increasing thermopower with doping originates from the reduction of carrier concentration along with enhanced electronic correlations. Thermoelectric figure of merit ZT of Ca₃Co₄O₉ system is improved by Y doping. However, the optimal thermoelectric performance is found to only exist at the critical doping level where doping-induced metal–semiconductor transition occurs. This result suggests an intrinsic correlation between transport mechanism and thermoelectric response in this system.     

On the Residual Entropy of the Blume-Emery-Griffiths Model

By means of a transfer matrix method, we show that the residual entropy S of the two dimensional square lattice Blume-Emery-Griffiths model on the antiquadrupolar-disordered and ferromagnetic-antiquadrupolar-disordered phase boundaries satisfies the inequalities (ln λ _1,n )/(n+1)≤S≤(ln λ _1,n )/n, where λ _1,n is the largest eigenvalue of a transfer matrix F _n on a strip of width n. These bounds imply the existence of a O(1/n) correction in the approximation of S by (ln λ _1,n )/n. Using these bounds, we calculate numerically the value of S, with precise estimates on the errors.     

Observation of diamagnetic domains in beryllium

We have observed diamagnetic domains (Condon domains) in a beryllium single crystal in magnetic fields H⩽3 T (H∥[0001]) at liquid-helium temperatures. The formation of the domain structure was determined according to magnetic-breakdown quantum oscillations of the resistance thermoelectric power as well as according to the splitting of the resonance peak of the free spin precession frequency of muons (μSR). The alternation of a uniform state (with one μSR peak) and a state with domain structure (with two peaks) is consistent as regards the periodicity with the de Haas-van Alphen effect, the period is ΔH≅78 Oe, and the range of existence of domains and the difference in their magnetizations are ΔB=4πΔM=B ₂−B ₁≅30 Oe. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 524–526 (March 1998)     

Wave packet splitting and zitterbewegung in two-dimensional semiconductor structures with spin-orbit coupling

Dynamics of electron wave packets in an asymmetric quantum well in the presence of Rashba spinorbit coupling was analytically and numerically studied. Electron Green’s functions were introduced and the evolution of 1D and 2D wave packets was studied. The effect of packet splitting caused by the presence of two branches with different chiralities in the Rashba Hamiltonian spectrum and zitterbewegung, i.e., packet center’s jitter, was studied. Spatial components of the spin density were calculated. It was shown that the component of the spin density S _y in split parts of the wave packet has opposite signs, and two other spin density components oscillate in space between scattering packets.