arXiv subjects

Ken-ichi Uchida

Publications and source records attributed to Ken-ichi Uchida.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

Sm-Co-based amorphous alloy films for zero-field operation of transverse thermoelectric generation

Transverse thermoelectric generation using magnetic materials is essential to develop active thermal engineering technologies, for which the improvements of not only the thermoelectric output but also applicability and versatility are required. In this study, using combinatorial material science and lock-in thermography technique, we have systematically investigated the transverse thermoelectric performance of Sm-Co-based alloy films. The high-throughput material investigation revealed the best Sm-Co-based alloys with the large anomalous Nernst effect (ANE) as well as the anomalous Ettingshausen effect (AEE). In addition to ANE/AEE, we discovered unique and superior material properties in these alloys: the amorphous structure, low thermal conductivity, and large in-plane coercivity and remanent magnetization. These properties make it advantageous over conventional materials to realize heat flux sensing applications based on ANE, as our Sm-Co-based films can generate thermoelectric output without an external magnetic field. Importantly, the amorphous nature enables the fabrication of these films on various substrates including flexible sheets, making the large-scale and low-cost manufacturing easier. Our demonstration will provide a pathway to develop flexible transverse thermoelectric devices for smart thermal management.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Direct measurement of electrocaloric effect based on multi-harmonic lock-in thermography

In this study, we report on a direct measurement method for the electrocaloric effect, the heating/cooling upon application/removal of an electric field in dielectric materials, based on a lock-in thermography technique. By use of sinusoidal excitation and multi-harmonic detection, the actual temperature change can be measured by a single measurement in the frequency domain even when the electrocaloric effect shows nonlinear response to the excitation field. We have demonstrated the method by measuring the temperature dependence of the electric-field-induced temperature change for two Sr-doped BaTiO$_3$ systems with different ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition temperatures, where the procedure for extracting the pure electrocaloric contribution free from heat losses and Joule heating due to leakage currents is introduced. This method can be used irrespective of the type of dielectric materials and enables simultaneous estimation of the polarization change and power dissipation during the application of the electric field, being a convenient imaging measurement method for the electrocaloric effect.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Anomalous Ettingshausen effect in iron-carbon alloys

We have investigated the anomalous Ettingshausen effect (AEE) in iron-carbon alloys, i.e., cast irons and steel, using the lock-in thermography. All the alloys exhibit the clear AEE-induced temperature modulation, and their anomalous Ettingshausen coefficient is an order of magnitude greater than that of the pure iron at room temperature. The dimensionless figure of merit for AEE in the ductile cast iron is 55 times greater than that in the pure iron owing to the significant increase of the anomalous Ettingshausen coefficient. Our result reveals a potential of iron-carbon alloys as transverse thermoelectric materials, although the composition and microstructures optimizations are necessary.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Thermoelectrics: from Longitudinal to Transverse

In this article, we show fundamentals and recent advances on the transverse thermoelectric generation, in which a thermopower is generated in the direction perpendicular to an applied temperature gradient. Transverse thermoelectric generation is one of the central topics in condensed matter physics, and can be a breakthrough approach to solve long-standing technological problems with contact resistances in thermoelectric generators. We review here the six currently known driving mechanisms: the ordinary Nernst effect, the anomalous Nernst effect, goniopolar materials, the spin Seebeck effect, Seebeck-driven transverse thermoelectric generation, and ($p \times n$)-type multilayers. This article summarizes the principles and functionalities of these transverse thermoelectric effects and discusses their potential as "Future energy".

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Nonlocal Drag Thermoelectricity Generated by Ferroelectric Heterostructures

The \textquotedblleft ferron\textquotedblright\ excitations of the electric-dipolar order carry energy as well as electric dipoles. Here we predict a nonlocal ferron drag effect in a ferroelectric on top of a metallic film: An electric current in the conductor generates a heat current in the ferroelectric by long-range charge-dipole interactions. The non-local Peltier and its reciprocal Seebeck effect can be controlled by electric gates and detected thermographically. We predict large effects for van der Waals ferroelectric films on graphene.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Seebeck-driven transverse thermoelectric generation in on-chip devices

An unconventional approach to enhance the transverse thermopower by combining magnetic and thermoelectric materials, namely the Seebeck-driven transverse thermoelectric generation (STTG), has been proposed and demonstrated recently. Here, we improve on the previously used sample structure and achieve large transverse thermopower over 40 $μ$V K$^{-1}$ due to STTG in on-chip devices. We deposited polycrystalline Fe-Ga alloy films directly on n-type Si substrates, where Fe-Ga and Si serve as the magnetic and thermoelectric materials, respectively. Using microfabrication, contact holes were created through the SiO$_{x}$ layer at the top of Si to electrically connect the Fe-Ga film with the Si substrate. These thin devices with simple structure clearly exhibited enhancement of transverse thermopower due to STTG, and the obtained values agreed well with the estimation over a wide range of the size ratio between the Fe-Ga film and the Si substrate.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Deposition temperature dependence of thermo-spin and magneto-thermoelectric conversion in Co$_2$MnGa films on Y$_3$Fe$_5$O$_{12}$ and Gd$_3$Ga$_5$O$_{12}$

We have characterized Co$_2$MnGa (CMG) Heusler alloy films grown on Y$_3$Fe$_5$O$_{12}$ (YIG) and Gd$_3$Ga$_5$O$_{12}$ (GGG) substrates at different deposition temperatures and investigated thermo-spin and magneto-thermoelectric conversion properties by means of a lock-in thermography technique. X-ray diffraction, magnetization, and electrical transport measurements show that the deposition at high substrate temperatures induces the crystallized structures of CMG while the resistivity of the CMG films on YIG (GGG) prepared at and above 500 °C (550 °C) becomes too high to measure the thermo-spin and magneto-thermoelectric effects due to large roughness, highlighting the difficulty of fabricating highly ordered continuous CMG films on garnet structures. Our lock-in thermography measurements show that the deposition at high substrate temperatures results in an increase in the current-induced temperature change for CMG/GGG and a decrease in that for CMG/YIG. The former indicates the enhancement of the anomalous Ettingshausen effect in CMG through crystallization. The latter can be explained by the superposition of the anomalous Ettingshausen effect and the spin Peltier effect induced by the positive (negative) charge-to-spin conversion for the amorphous (crystallized) CMG films. These results provide a hint to construct spin-caloritronic devices based on Heusler alloys.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Spin Peltier effect and its length scale in Pt/YIG system at high temperatures

The temperature and yttrium-iron-garnet (YIG) thickness dependences of the spin Peltier effect (SPE) have been investigated using a Pt/YIG junction system at temperatures ranging from room temperature to the Curie temperature of YIG by the lock-in thermography method. By analyzing the YIG thickness dependence using an exponential decay model, the characteristic length of SPE in YIG is estimated to be 0.9 $μ$m near room temperature and almost constant even near the Curie temperature. The high-temperature behavior of SPE is clearly different from that of the spin Seebeck effect, providing a clue for microscopically understanding the reciprocal relation between them.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Excitations of the ferroelectric order

We identify the bosonic excitations in ferroelectrics that carry electric dipoles from the phenomenological Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire theory. The "ferron" quasi-particles emerge from the concerted action of anharmonicity and broken inversion symmetry. In contrast to magnons, the transverse excitations of the magnetic order, the ferrons in displacive ferroelectrics are longitudinal with respect to the ferroelectric order. Based on the ferron spectrum, we predict temperature dependent pyroelectric and electrocaloric properties, electric-field-tunable heat and polarization transport, and ferron-photon hybridization.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Phase-transition-induced giant Thomson effect for thermoelectric cooling

The Seebeck and Peltier effects have been widely studied and used in various thermoelectric technologies, including thermal energy harvesting and solid-state heat pumps. However, basic and applied studies on the Thomson effect, another fundamental thermoelectric effect in conductors, are limited despite the fact that the Thomson effect allows electronic cooling through the application of a temperature gradient bias rather than the construction of junction structures. In this article, we report the observation of a giant Thomson effect that appears owing to magnetic phase transitions. The Thomson coefficient of FeRh-based alloys reaches large values approaching $-$1,000 $μ$VK$^{-1}$ around room temperature because of the steep temperature dependence of the Seebeck coefficient associated with the antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic phase transition. The Thomson coefficient is several orders of magnitude larger than the Seebeck coefficient of the alloys. Using the active thermography technique, we demonstrate that the Thomson cooling can be much larger than Joule heating in the same material even in a nearly steady state. The operation temperature of the giant Thomson effect in the FeRh-based alloys can be tuned over a wide range by applying an external magnetic field or by slightly changing the composition. Our findings provide a new direction in the materials science of thermoelectrics and pave the way for thermal management applications using the Thomson effect.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Probing thermal magnon current mediated by coherent magnon via nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond

Currently, thermally excited magnons are being intensively investigated owing to their potential in computing devices and thermoelectric conversion technologies. We report the detection of thermal magnon current propagating in a magnetic insulator yttrium iron garnet under a temperature gradient using a quantum sensor: electron spins associated with nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. Thermal magnon current was observed as modified Rabi oscillation frequencies of NV spins hosted in a beam-shaped bulk diamond that resonantly coupled with coherent magnon propagating over a long distance. Additionally, using a nanodiamond, alteration in NV spin relaxation rates depending on the applied temperature gradient were observed under a non-resonant NV excitation condition. The demonstration of probing thermal magnon current mediated by coherent magnon via NV spin states serves as a basis for creating a device platform hybridizing spin caloritronics and spin qubits.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Spintronic thermal management

In spin caloritronics, a branch of spintronics, the spin degree of freedom is exploited for thermoelectric conversion and thermal transport. Since the inception of spin caloritronics, many experimental and theoretical studies have focused on clarifying the fundamental physics of the heat-to-spin and heat-to-charge current conversion phenomena in magnetic materials and magnetic hybrid structures, such as the spin Seebeck and anomalous Nernst effects. While research on these phenomena is progressing, there are also many spin-caloritronic phenomena that output heat currents. The observations of such phenomena have recently been accomplished through cutting-edge heat detection techniques. The recent developments in spin caloritronics have revealed that the generation, conversion, and transport of heat can be actively controlled by spins and/or magnetism. In this review article, we propose a new concept called spintronic thermal management. With proof-of-concept demonstrations, we introduce the basic principles, behaviors, measurement methods, and heat control functionalities of spin-caloritronic phenomena and discuss potential applications of spintronic thermal management.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

High-throughput imaging measurements of thermoelectric figure of merit

We demonstrate a method for the simultaneous determination of the thermoelectric figure of merit of multiple martials by means of the lock-in thermography (LIT) technique. This method is based on the thermal analyses of the transient temperature distribution induced by the Peltier effect and Joule heating, which enables high-throughput estimation of the thermal diffusivity, thermal conductivity, volumetric heat capacity, Seebeck or Peltier coefficient of the materials. The LIT-based approach has high reproducibility and reliability because it offers sensitive noncontact temperature measurements and does not require the installation of an external heater. By performing the same measurements and analyses with applying an external magnetic field, the magnetic field and/or magnetization dependences of the Seebeck or Peltier coefficient and thermal conductivity can be determined simultaneously. We demonstrate the validity of this method by using several ferromagnetic metals (Ni, Ni$_{95}$Pt$_{5}$, and Fe) and a nonmagnetic metal (Ti). The proposed method will be useful for materials research in thermoelectrics and spin caloritronics and for investigation of magneto-thermal and magneto-thermoelectric transport properties.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Phenomenological analysis of transverse thermoelectric generation and cooling performance in magnetic/thermoelectric hybrid systems

We phenomenologically calculate the performance of the recently-observed Seebeck-driven transverse thermoelectric generation (STTG) for various systems in terms of the thermopower, power factor, and figure of merit to demonstrate the usefulness of STTG. The STTG system consists of a closed circuit comprising thermoelectric and magnetic materials which exhibit the Seebeck and anomalous Hall effects, respectively. When a temperature gradient is applied to the hybrid system, the Seebeck effect in the thermoelectric material layer generates a longitudinal charge current in the closed circuit and the charge current subsequently drives the anomalous Hall effect in the magnetic material layer. The anomalous Hall voltage driven by the Seebeck effect has a similar symmetry to the transverse thermoelectric conversion based on the anomalous Nernst effect. We find that the thermoelectric properties of STTG can be much better than those of the anomalous Nernst effect by increasing the Seebeck coefficient and anomalous Hall angle of the thermoelectric and magnetic materials, respectively, as well as by optimizing their dimensions. We also formulate the electronic cooling performance in the STTG system, confirming the reciprocal relation for the hybrid transverse thermoelectric conversion.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

The Ferroelectric Point Contact

We formulate a scattering theory of polarization and heat transport through a ballistic ferroelectric point contact. We predict a polarization current under either an electric field or a temperature difference that depends strongly on the direction of the ferroelectric order and can be detected by its magnetic stray field and associated thermovoltage and Peltier effect.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Transverse thermoelectric generation using magnetic materials

The transverse thermoelectric effect refers to the conversion of a temperature gradient into a transverse charge current, or vice versa, which appears in a conductor under a magnetic field or in a magnetic material with spontaneous magnetization. Among such phenomena, the anomalous Nernst effect in magnetic materials has been receiving increased attention from the viewpoints of fundamental physics and thermoelectric applications owing to the rapid development of spin caloritronics and topological materials science. In this research trend, a conceptually different transverse thermoelectric conversion phenomenon appearing in thermoelectric/magnetic hybrid materials has been demonstrated, enabling the generation of a large transverse thermopower. Here, we review the recent progress in fundamental and applied studies on the transverse thermoelectric generation using magnetic materials. We anticipate that this perspective will further stimulate research activities on the transverse thermoelectric generation and lead to the development of next-generation thermal energy harvesting and heat-flux sensing technologies.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Combinatorial tuning of electronic structure and thermoelectric properties in Co$_2$MnAl$_{1-x}$Si$_x$ Weyl semimetals

A tuning of Fermi level (E$_F$) near Weyl points is one of the promising approaches to realize large anomalous Nernst effect (ANE). In this work, we introduce an efficient approach to tune E$_F$ for the Co$_2$MnAl Weyl semimetal through a layer-by-layer combinatorial deposition of Co$_2$MnAl$_{1-x}$Si$_x$ (CMAS) thin film. A single-crystalline composition-spread film with x varied from 0 to 1 was fabricated. The structural characterization reveals the formation of single-phase CMAS alloy throughout the composition range with a gradual improvement of L2$_1$ order with x similar to the co-sputtered single layered film, which validates the present fabrication technique. Hard X-ray photoemission spectroscopy for the CMAS composition-spread film directly confirmed the rigid band-like E$_F$ shift of approximately 0.40 eV towards the composition gradient direction from x = 0 to 1. The anomalous Ettingshausen effect (AEE), the reciprocal of ANE, has been measured for whole x range using a single strip along the composition gradient using the lock-in thermography technique. The similarity of the x dependence of observed AEE and ANE signals clearly demonstrates that the AEE measurement on the composition spread film is an effective approach to investigate the composition dependence of ANE of Weyl semimetal thin films and realize the highest performance without fabricating several films, which will accelerate the research for ANE-based energy harvesting

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Local heat emission due to unidirectional spin-wave heat conveyer effect observed by lock-in thermography

Lock-in thermography measurements were performed to reveal heat source distribution induced by the unidirectional spin-wave heat conveyer effect (USHCE) of magnetostatic surface spin waves. When the magnetostatic surface spin waves are excited in an yttrium iron garnet slab, the lock-in thermography images show spatially biased sharp and complicated heating patterns, indicating the importance of edge spin-wave dynamics for USHCE. The accessibility to the local heat emission properties allows us to clarify a capability of remote heating realized by USHCE; it can transfer energy for heating even through a macro-scale air gap between two magnetic materials owing to the long-range dipole-dipole coupling.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗