Thermoelectrics: from Longitudinal to Transverse

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent advances in transverse thermoelectric generation, highlighting six mechanisms that could revolutionize energy conversion by overcoming contact resistance issues in thermoelectric devices.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamental principles and recent progress in six transverse thermoelectric effects, a promising area for future energy applications.

Findings

Six mechanisms of transverse thermoelectric generation identified

Potential for overcoming contact resistance in thermoelectric devices

Discussion of future energy applications of these effects

Abstract

In this article, we show fundamentals and recent advances on the transverse thermoelectric generation, in which a thermopower is generated in the direction perpendicular to an applied temperature gradient. Transverse thermoelectric generation is one of the central topics in condensed matter physics, and can be a breakthrough approach to solve long-standing technological problems with contact resistances in thermoelectric generators. We review here the six currently known driving mechanisms: the ordinary Nernst effect, the anomalous Nernst effect, goniopolar materials, the spin Seebeck effect, Seebeck-driven transverse thermoelectric generation, and ($p \times n$)-type multilayers. This article summarizes the principles and functionalities of these transverse thermoelectric effects and discusses their potential as "Future energy".