# Three-terminal interface as a thermoelectric generator beyond Seebeck effect

## TL;DR

This paper develops a quantum theory to show that a three-terminal interface with inelastic scatterings can generate electricity from heat via phonon-mediated electron interactions, beyond traditional Seebeck effect mechanisms.

## Contribution

It introduces a novel interface-based thermoelectric mechanism driven by electron-phonon scatterings, extending beyond bulk Seebeck effect principles.

## Key findings

- Three-terminal interfaces can generate electricity from heat.
- Inelastic scatterings enable heat-charge current separation.
- Interface thermoelectricity differs from bulk Seebeck-based effects.

## Abstract

We investigate thermoelectric transport through interfaces with inelastic scatterings by developing a quantum theory, which has been extensively validated by existing theories. We find that under temperature bias, while a two-terminal conductor-insulator interface behaves only as a thermal resistor, a three-terminal conductor-insulator-conductor interface can function as an electricity generator caused by phonon-mediated electron scatterings with heat-charge current separation. Unlike conventional thermoelectrics which is a property of a bulk caused by the Seebeck effect, this thermoelectric behavior is a property of an interface driven by electron-phonon scatterings.