Iron-based binary ferromagnets for transverse thermoelectric conversion

Akito Sakai, Susumu Minami, Takashi Koretsune, Taishi Chen, Tomoya Higo, Yangming Wang, Takuya Nomoto, Motoaki Hirayama, Shinji Miwa, Daisuke Nishio-Hamane, Fumiyuki Ishii, Ryotaro Arita and Satoru Nakatsuji ()
Additional contact information
Akito Sakai: University of Tokyo
Susumu Minami: Kanazawa University
Takashi Koretsune: Tohoku University
Taishi Chen: University of Tokyo
Tomoya Higo: University of Tokyo
Yangming Wang: University of Tokyo
Takuya Nomoto: University of Tokyo
Motoaki Hirayama: Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), RIKEN
Shinji Miwa: University of Tokyo
Daisuke Nishio-Hamane: University of Tokyo
Fumiyuki Ishii: Kanazawa University
Ryotaro Arita: CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)
Satoru Nakatsuji: University of Tokyo

Nature, 2020, vol. 581, issue 7806, 53-57

Abstract: Abstract Thermoelectric generation using the anomalous Nernst effect (ANE) has great potential for application in energy harvesting technology because the transverse geometry of the Nernst effect should enable efficient, large-area and flexible coverage of a heat source. For such applications to be viable, substantial improvements will be necessary not only for their performance but also for the associated material costs, safety and stability. In terms of the electronic structure, the anomalous Nernst effect (ANE) originates from the Berry curvature of the conduction electrons near the Fermi energy1,2. To design a large Berry curvature, several approaches have been considered using nodal points and lines in momentum space3–10. Here we perform a high-throughput computational search and find that 25 percent doping of aluminium and gallium in alpha iron, a naturally abundant and low-cost element, dramatically enhances the ANE by a factor of more than ten, reaching about 4 and 6 microvolts per kelvin at room temperature, respectively, close to the highest value reported so far. The comparison between experiment and theory indicates that the Fermi energy tuning to the nodal web—a flat band structure made of interconnected nodal lines—is the key for the strong enhancement in the transverse thermoelectric coefficient, reaching a value of about 5 amperes per kelvin per metre with a logarithmic temperature dependence. We have also succeeded in fabricating thin films that exhibit a large ANE at zero field, which could be suitable for designing low-cost, flexible microelectronic thermoelectric generators11–13.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2230-z

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