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A4: Theory - bulk materials

Enhanced Thermopower in Bulk Materials with the Rashba Effect

Lihua Wu1,2,3,  Jiong Yang1, Jihui Yang1, Wenqing Zhang2 and Lidong Chen2
1 Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA2 Shanghai Inst. of Ceramics, Chinese Acad. of Sci., Shanghai, China3 Univ. of Chinese Acad. of Sci., Beijing, China

The Rashba effect, originating from inversion asymmetry and strong spin-orbit coupling, has been endeavored for the potential applications in spintronics, ferroelectrics, and superconducting electronics. The unique spin-splitting band structure may also be beneficial to thermoelectrics, which is studied in this work. We have theoretically and experimentally investigated the thermoelectric properties of bulk materials with large Rashba effect. The results reveal that their thermopower is larger than those with single parabolic bands. The enhancement of thermopower closely relates to the special topology of the Fermi surface. A quantitative relation between thermopower enhancement and Rashba parameter αR has also been established. Our finding may motivate searches in bulk Rashba materials as new thermoelectrics.