Spin Seebeck power generators

We derive expressions for the efficiency and figure of merit of two spin caloritronic devices based on the spin Seebeck effect (SSE), i.e., the generation of spin currents by a temperature gradient. The inverse spin Hall effect is conventionally used to detect the SSE and offers advantages for large area applications. We also propose a device that converts spin current into electric one by means of a spin-valve detector, which scales favorably to small sizes and approaches a figure of merit of 0.5 at room temperature. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.