Spintronics is about the coupled electron spin and charge transport in
condensed-matter structures and devices. The recently invigorated field
of spin caloritronics focuses on the interaction of spins with heat
currents, motivated by newly discovered physical effects and strategies
to improve existing thermoelectric devices. Here we give an overview of
our understanding and the experimental state-of-the-art concerning the
coupling of spin, charge and heat currents in magnetic thin films and
nanostructures. Known phenomena are classified either as independent
electron (such as spin-dependent Seebeck) effects in metals that can be
understood by a model of two parallel spin-transport channels with
different thermoelectric properties, or as collective (such as spin
Seebeck) effects, caused by spin waves, that also exist in insulating
ferromagnets. The search to find applications — for example heat sensors
and waste heat recyclers — is on.
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