Giant Enhancement in Rashba Spin‐Seebeck Effect in NiFe/p‐Si Thin Films

Abstract

The spin‐Seebeck effect mediated thermoelectric energy conversion can provide an efficient alternative to traditional thermoelectrics for waste heat recovery. To achieve this goal, efficient spin to charge conversion using earth‐abundant materials is essential. Proximity induced Rashba effect arises from the charge potential mediated by structural inversion asymmetry, which has been reported in Si thin films and can be manipulated by controlling the thickness of Rashba layer. We demonstrate a giant Rashba spin‐Seebeck effect in NiFe/p‐Si (polycrystalline) bilayer thin films. The bilayer thin film specimens have p‐Si layer thickness of 5, 25, and 100 nm while keeping the NiFe layer thickness at 25 nm. The Rashba spin‐Seebeck coefficient has been estimated to be μV K−1 for 100 nm p‐Si, and increases by an order of magnitude to μV K−1 for 5 nm p‐Si. The measured spin‐Seebeck coefficient in 5 nm p‐Si specimen is one of the largest coefficients ever reported. The measured voltage of 100.3 μV is one of the largest reported spin‐Seebeck voltages, with smallest area of ≈160 × 10 μm2 used in any spin‐Seebeck measurement. This scientific and technological breakthrough using earth abundant elements brings the spin mediated thermoelectric energy conversion for waste heat recovery closer to reality.