Enhancement of thermoelectric efficiency in granular Co-Cu thin films from spin-dependent scattering

In contrast to traditional concepts that eliminate magnetic impurities to achieve larger thermoelectric efficiencies, we report an enhanced thermoelectric efficiency for Cu through doping with the magnetic impurity Co. With doping concentrations from 15% to 30%, the amplitude of the Seebeck coefficient increases from 1.90 μV/K up to 16.3 μV/K, which greatly enhances the thermoelectric efficiency (i.e., power factor). Measuring the magnetoresistance and magnetothermoelectric powers at different temperatures indicates that the enhancement of thermoelectric efficiency is a result of spin-dependent scattering from Co nanoparticles, which are less sensitive to the superparamagnetic transitions. Our finding illustrates a path for the use of nanomagnets to develop potential thermoelectric materials.