Spin-current-driven thermoelectric coating
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Updated: May 21, 2026

Fabrication of Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 Thermoelectric Thin Films using Radio Frequency Magnetron Sputtering Technique
Published on: May 17, 2024
Akihiro Kirihara1, Ken-ichi Uchida, Yosuke Kajiwara
1Smart Energy Research Laboratories, NEC Corporation, Tsukuba 305-8501, Japan.
Abstract:
Energy harvesting technologies, which generate electricity from environmental energy, have been attracting great interest because of their potential to power ubiquitously deployed sensor networks and mobile electronics. Of these technologies, thermoelectric (TE) conversion is a particularly promising candidate, because it can directly generate electricity from the thermal energy that is available in various places. Here we show a novel TE concept based on the spin Seebeck effect, called 'spin-thermoelectric (STE) coating', which is characterized by a simple film structure, convenient scaling capability, and easy fabrication. The STE coating, with a 60-nm-thick bismuth-substituted yttrium iron garnet (Bi:YIG) film, is applied by means of a highly efficient process on a non-magnetic substrate. Notably, spin-current-driven TE conversion is successfully demonstrated under a temperature gradient perpendicular to such an ultrathin STE-coating layer (amounting to only 0.01% of the total sample thickness). We also show that the STE coating is applicable even on glass surfaces with amorphous structures. Such a versatile implementation of the TE function may pave the way for novel applications making full use of omnipresent heat.
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