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Updated: Oct 4, 2026

Thermocapillary Convection Space Experiment on the SJ-10 Recoverable Satellite
Published on: March 11, 2020
Observation of orbital-angular-momentum-driven temperature modulation via the spin Peltier effect
Sang J Park1, Tsuneyoshi Kan2, Takamasa Hirai1,2
1National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba 305-0047, Japan.
Abstract:
Angular-momentum transport provides a pathway for controlling energy flow in solids beyond conventional charge-based mechanisms. Although spin currents are known to mediate spin-caloritronic phenomena such as the spin Peltier effect (SPE), the role of orbital angular momentum (OAM) in heat transport remains largely unexplored. Here, we demonstrate OAM-driven temperature modulation via the SPE in yttrium-iron-garnet/Pt/CuOx heterostructures. Using wedge-shaped CuOx layers combined with spatially resolved active thermal measurement techniques, we map the continuous thickness dependence and quantitatively disentangle the spin- and orbital-current-mediated contributions within a single device. The orbital-mediated component exhibits a pronounced maximum at an intermediate thickness, revealing a characteristic length scale for interfacial OAM generation and propagation at the Cu/CuOx interface. These results provide direct experimental evidence that charge-current-driven OAM can drive SPE-induced temperature modulation, establishing interfacial orbital processes as an additional channel for heat transport and providing a pathway toward spin-orbit caloritronics.
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