Gate-tunable nonreciprocal thermoelectric effects on the surface states of topological insulators
Fuente:
arXiv
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866912557958168576 |
|---|---|
| author | Mercebach, Phillip Hwang, Sun-Yong Lu, Bo Sothmann, Björn Tanaka, Yukio Burset, Pablo |
| author_facet | Mercebach, Phillip Hwang, Sun-Yong Lu, Bo Sothmann, Björn Tanaka, Yukio Burset, Pablo |
| contents | Thermoelectric devices at the nanoscale offer promising routes for on-chip refrigeration and waste-heat recovery, yet most semiconductor-based implementations suffer from limited tunability and narrow operational ranges. We introduce a highly flexible thermoelectric platform based on a ballistic junction formed by two gate-tunable regions of a topological insulator surface state bridged by a magnetic barrier. We theoretically demonstrate that such device exhibits strong electrical control over both refrigeration and thermoelectric power generation via side gates. We exploit the interplay between strong spin-orbit coupling and magnetism to achieve pronounced nonreciprocal transport, asymmetric cooling and tunable diode-like behavior. To demonstrate experimental feasibility, we further analyze refrigeration efficiency and phonon-limited performance in realistic material settings. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_20969 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Gate-tunable nonreciprocal thermoelectric effects on the surface states of topological insulators Mercebach, Phillip Hwang, Sun-Yong Lu, Bo Sothmann, Björn Tanaka, Yukio Burset, Pablo Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics Thermoelectric devices at the nanoscale offer promising routes for on-chip refrigeration and waste-heat recovery, yet most semiconductor-based implementations suffer from limited tunability and narrow operational ranges. We introduce a highly flexible thermoelectric platform based on a ballistic junction formed by two gate-tunable regions of a topological insulator surface state bridged by a magnetic barrier. We theoretically demonstrate that such device exhibits strong electrical control over both refrigeration and thermoelectric power generation via side gates. We exploit the interplay between strong spin-orbit coupling and magnetism to achieve pronounced nonreciprocal transport, asymmetric cooling and tunable diode-like behavior. To demonstrate experimental feasibility, we further analyze refrigeration efficiency and phonon-limited performance in realistic material settings. |
| title | Gate-tunable nonreciprocal thermoelectric effects on the surface states of topological insulators |
| topic | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.20969 |