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Large, nonsaturating thermopower in a quantizing magnetic field.

ABSTRACT: The thermoelectric effect is the generation of an electrical voltage from a temperature gradient in a solid material due to the diffusion of free charge carriers from hot to cold. Identifying materials with a large thermoelectric response is crucial for the development of novel electric generators and coolers. We theoretically consider the thermopower of Dirac/Weyl semimetals subjected to a quantizing magnetic field. We contrast their thermoelectric properties with those of traditional heavily doped semiconductors and show that, under a sufficiently large magnetic field, the thermopower of Dirac/Weyl semimetals grows linearly with the field without saturation and can reach extremely high values. Our results suggest an immediate pathway for achieving record-high thermopower and thermoelectric figure of merit, and they compare well with a recent experiment on Pb1-x Sn x Se.

SUBMITTER: Skinner B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5969823 | biostudies-other | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Large, nonsaturating thermopower in a quantizing magnetic field.

Skinner Brian B   Fu Liang L  

Science advances 20180525 5

The thermoelectric effect is the generation of an electrical voltage from a temperature gradient in a solid material due to the diffusion of free charge carriers from hot to cold. Identifying materials with a large thermoelectric response is crucial for the development of novel electric generators and coolers. We theoretically consider the thermopower of Dirac/Weyl semimetals subjected to a quantizing magnetic field. We contrast their thermoelectric properties with those of traditional heavily d  ...[more]