Spin-caloric transport properties of cobalt nanostructures: spin disorder effects from first principles

Abstract

The fundamental aspects of spin-dependent transport processes and their interplay with temperature gradients, as given by the spin Seebeck coefficient, are still largely unexplored and a multitude of contributing factors must be considered. We used density functional theory together with a Monte-Carlo-based statistical method to simulate simple nanostructures, such as Co nanowires and films embedded in a Cu host or in vacuum, and investigated the influence of spin-disorder scattering on electron transport at elevated temperatures. While we show that the spin-dependent scattering of electrons due to temperature induced disorder of the local magnetic moments contributes significantly to the resistance, thermoelectric and spin-caloric transport coefficients, we also conclude that the actual magnitude of these effects cannot be predicted, quantitatively or qualitatively, without such detailed calculations.

10 pages, 6 figures

References in corpus (2)

• Observation of the Spin-Seebeck Effect in a Ferromagnetic Semiconductor
• Calculations of spin-disorder resistivity from first principles

Cited by in corpus (6)

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• Interplay of growth mode and thermally induced spin accumulation in epitaxial Al/Co${}_2$TiSi/Al and Al/Co${}_2$TiGe/Al contacts
• Large morphological sensitivity of the magnetothermopower in Co/Cu multilayered systems
• Spin transport and spin-caloric effects in (Cr,Zn)Te half-metallic nanostructures: Effect of spin disorder at elevated temperatures from first principles