Picosecond Spin Seebeck Effect.

We report time-resolved magneto-optic Kerr effect measurements of the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect in normal metal/Y_{3}Fe_{5}O_{12} bilayers driven by an interfacial temperature difference between electrons and magnons. The measured time evolution of spin accumulation induced by laser excitation indicates transfer of angular momentum across normal metal/Y_{3}Fe_{5}O_{12} interfaces on a picosecond time scale, too short for contributions from a bulk temperature gradient in an yttrium iron garnet. The product of spin-mixing conductance and the interfacial spin Seebeck coefficient determined is of the order of 10^{8} A m^{-2} K^{-1}.

The influence of a Te-depleted surface on the thermoelectric transport properties of Bi2Te3 nanowires.

We report on thermoelectric transport measurements along the basal plane of several individual, single-crystalline Bi2Te3 nanowires (NWs) with different cross-sectional areas, grown by a vapor-liquid-solid method. Lithographically defined microdevices allowed us to determine the Seebeck coefficient S, electrical conductivity σ, and thermal conductivity κ of individual NWs. The NWs studied show near intrinsic transport properties with low electrical conductivities of around σ = (3.2 ± 0.9) × 104 Ω⁻¹ m⁻¹ at room temperature. We observe a transition of the Seebeck coefficient from positive to negative values (S = +133 µVK⁻¹ to S = -87 µVK⁻¹) with increasing surface-to-volume ratio at room temperature, which can be explained by the presence of an approximately 5 nm thick Te-depleted layer at the surface of the NWs. The thermal conductivities of our NWs are in the range of κ = (1.4 ± 0.4) Wm⁻¹ K⁻¹ at room temperature, which is lower than literature values for bulk Bi2Te3. We attribute this suppression in thermal conductivity to enhanced scattering of phonons at the surface of the NWs. Despite their reduced thermal conductivities, the NWs investigated only show a moderate figure of merit between 0.02 and 0.18 due to their near intrinsic transport properties.

Thermoelectric characterization of bismuth telluride nanowires, synthesized via catalytic growth and post-annealing.

Bi(2) Te(3) nanowires are of significant interest for two fields: nanostructured thermoelectrics and topological insulators. The vapor-liquid-solid method is employed in combination with annealing in a Te atmosphere, to obtain single-crystalline Bi(2) Te(3) nanowires with reproducible electronic transport properties (electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient) that are close to those of intrinsic bulk Bi(2) Te(3) .