FollowThanks to a recently discovered effect in magnetic tunnel structures, thermoelectric voltages in nano-electronic junctions can be controlled. The heat which occurs in tiny computer processors might soon be no longer useless or even a problem. On the contrary: It could be used to switch these processors more easily or to store data more efficiently! These are two of the several potential applications made possible by a discovery made at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB). This so-called “thermoelectric voltage” may well be very interesting — mainly for the use of nano-junctions, i.e. small components based on magnetic tunnel structures. The results obtained by the researchers have been published in the current issue of the journal Physical Review Letters.
