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Thermoelectric generation is an essential function in future energy-saving technologies. However, it has so far been an exclusive feature of electric conductors, a situation which limits its application; conduction electrons are often problematic in the thermal design of devices. Here we report electric voltage generation from heat flowing in an insulator. We reveal that, despite the absence of conduction electrons, the magnetic insulator LaY(2)Fe(5)O(12) can convert a heat flow into a spin voltage. Attached Pt films can then transform this spin voltage into an electric voltage as a result of the inverse spin Hall effect. The experimental results require us to introduce a thermally activated interface spin exchange between LaY(2)Fe(5)O(12) and Pt. Our findings extend the range of potential materials for thermoelectric applications and provide a crucial piece of information for understanding the physics of the spin Seebeck effect.

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The inverse spin-Hall effect (ISHE) induced by the spin pumping has been investigated systematically in simple ferromagnetic/paramagnetic bilayer systems. The spin pumping driven by ferromagnetic resonance injects a spin current into the paramagnetic layer, which gives rise to an electromotive force transverse to the spin current using the ISHE in the paramagnetic layer. In a Ni81Fe19/Pt film, we found an electromotive force perpendicular to the applied magnetic field at the ferromagnetic resonance condition. The spectral shape of the electromotive force is well reproduced using a simple Lorentz function, indicating that the electromotive force is due to the ISHE induced by the spin pumping; extrinsic magnetogalvanic effects are eliminated in this measurement. The electromotive force varies systematically by changing the microwave power, magnetic-field angle, and film size, being consistent with the prediction based on the Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert equation combined with the models of the ISHE and spin pumping. The electromotive force was observed also in a Pt/Y3Fe4GaO12 film, in which the metallic Ni81Fe19 layer is replaced by an insulating Y3Fe4GaO12 layer, supporting that the spin-pumping-induced ISHE is responsible for the observed electromotive force.

We report successful spin injection into the surface states of topological insulators by using a spin pumping technique. By measuring the voltage that shows up across the samples as a result of spin pumping, we demonstrate that a spin-electricity conversion effect takes place in the surface states of bulk-insulating topological insulators Bi(1.5)Sb(0.5)Te(1.7)Se(1.3) and Sn-doped Bi(2)Te(2)Se. In this process, the injected spins are converted into a charge current along the Hall direction due to the spin-momentum locking on the surface state.

We experimentally show that exchange magnons can be detected by using a combination of spin pumping and the inverse spin-Hall effect proving its wavelength integrating capability down to the submicrometer scale. The magnons were injected in a ferrite yttrium iron garnet film by parametric pumping and the inverse spin-Hall effect voltage was detected in an attached Pt layer. The role of the density, wavelength, and spatial localization of the magnons for the spin pumping efficiency is revealed.

Energy harvesting technologies, which generate electricity from environmental energy, have been attracting great interest because of their potential to power ubiquitously deployed sensor networks and mobile electronics. Of these technologies, thermoelectric (TE) conversion is a particularly promising candidate, because it can directly generate electricity from the thermal energy that is available in various places. Here we show a novel TE concept based on the spin Seebeck effect, called 'spin-thermoelectric (STE) coating', which is characterized by a simple film structure, convenient scaling capability, and easy fabrication. The STE coating, with a 60-nm-thick bismuth-substituted yttrium iron garnet (Bi:YIG) film, is applied by means of a highly efficient process on a non-magnetic substrate. Notably, spin-current-driven TE conversion is successfully demonstrated under a temperature gradient perpendicular to such an ultrathin STE-coating layer (amounting to only 0.01% of the total sample thickness). We also show that the STE coating is applicable even on glass surfaces with amorphous structures. Such a versatile implementation of the TE function may pave the way for novel applications making full use of omnipresent heat.

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