Quantum Interference Enhancement of the Spin-Dependent Thermoelectric Response.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38651504.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acsnano.4c01297 and PMC identifier 11080465.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
We investigate the influence of quantum interference (QI) and broken spin-symmetry on the thermoelectric response of node-possessing junctions, finding a dramatic enhancement of the spin-thermopower (<i>S</i><sub>s</sub>), figure-of-merit (<i>Z</i><sub>s</sub><i>T</i>), and maximum thermodynamic efficiency (η<sub>s</sub><sup>max</sup>) caused by destructive QI. Using many-body and single-particle methods, we calculate the response of 1,3-benzenedithiol and cross-conjugated molecule-based junctions subject to an applied magnetic field, finding nearly universal behavior over a range of junction parameters with <i>S</i><sub>s</sub>, <i>Z</i><sub>s</sub><i>T</i>, and reaching peak values of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mn>2</mn><mi>π</mi><mo>/</mo><msqrt><mn>3</mn></msqrt><mrow><mo>(</mo><mi>k</mi><mo>/</mo><mi>e</mi><mo>)</mo></mrow></math>, 1.51, and 28% of Carnot efficiency, respectively. We also find that the quantum-enhanced spin-response is spectrally broad, and the field required to achieve peak efficiency scales with temperature. The influence of off-resonant thermal channels (e.g., phonon heat transport) on this effect is also investigated.