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Comparison of the magneto-Peltier and magneto-Seebeck effects in magnetic tunnel junctions

J. Shan, F. K. Dejene, J. C. Leutenantsmeyer, J. Flipse, M. Münzenberg, and B. J. van Wees
Phys. Rev. B 92, 020414(R) – Published 28 July 2015
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Abstract

Understanding heat generation and transport processes in a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) is a significant step towards improving its application in current memory devices. Recent work has experimentally demonstrated the magneto-Seebeck effect in MTJs, where the Seebeck coefficient of the junction varies as the magnetic configuration changes from a parallel (P) to an antiparallel (AP) configuration. Here we report a study on its reciprocal effect, the magneto-Peltier effect, where the heat flow carried by the tunneling electrons is altered by changing the magnetic configuration of the MTJ. The magneto-Peltier signal that reflects the change in the temperature difference across the junction between the P and AP configurations scales linearly with the applied current in the small bias but is greatly enhanced in the large-bias regime, due to higher-order Joule heating mechanisms. By carefully extracting the linear response which reflects the magneto-Peltier effect, and comparing it with the magneto-Seebeck measurements performed on the same device, we observe results consistent with Onsager reciprocity. We estimate a magneto-Peltier coefficient of 13.4 mV in the linear regime using a three-dimensional thermoelectric model. Our result opens up the possibility of programmable thermoelectric devices based on the Peltier effect in MTJs.

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  • Received 28 May 2015
  • Revised 6 July 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.92.020414

©2015 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

J. Shan1,*, F. K. Dejene1, J. C. Leutenantsmeyer1, J. Flipse1, M. Münzenberg2, and B. J. van Wees1

  • 1Physics of Nanodevices, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
  • 2Institut für Physik, Greifswald University, Felix-Hausdorff-Strasse 6, 17489 Greifswald, Germany

  • *j.shan@rug.nl

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Issue

Vol. 92, Iss. 2 — 1 July 2015

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