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Updated: Jan 28, 2026

Spectral and Angle-Resolved Magneto-Optical Characterization of Photonic Nanostructures
Published on: November 21, 2019
Magneto-Seebeck tunneling on the atomic scale
Cody Friesen1, Hermann Osterhage2, Johannes Friedlein2
1Department of Physics, University of Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11A, 20355 Hamburg, Germany. cfriesen@physnet.uni-hamburg.de skrause@physnet.uni-hamburg.de.
Abstract:
The tunneling of spin-polarized electrons across a magnetic tunnel junction driven by a temperature gradient is a fundamental process for the thermal control of electron spin transport. We experimentally investigated the atomic-scale details of this magneto-Seebeck tunneling by placing a magnetic probe tip in close proximity to a magnetic sample at cryogenic temperature, with a vacuum as the tunneling barrier. Heating the tip and measuring the thermopower of the junction while scanning across the spin texture of the sample lead to spin-resolved Seebeck coefficients that can be mapped at atomic-scale lateral resolution. We propose a spin detector for spintronics applications that is driven solely by waste heat, using magneto-Seebeck tunneling to convert spin information into a voltage that can be used for further data processing.
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