Strain effect on thermoelectric properties of SrRuO3 epitaxial thin films

We investigated the thermopower and anomalous Nernst effect in compressively and tensilely strained SrRuO3 films, revealing the influence of the epitaxial strain on the thermoelectric properties. The compressively strained film has a lower Seebeck coefficient than the tensilely strained film. Furthermore, both the sign and the magnitude of the anomalous Nernst effect are found to be strain dependent. For the compressively strained film, the anomalous Nernst coefficient is positive and is as small as 0.03 lV/K. For the tensilely strained film, on the other hand, the coefficient is negative and its maximum absolute magnitude is as large as 0.13 lV/K. Our results highlight the strong influence of epitaxial strain on electronic structures at the EF and their Berry curvature in SrRuO3, resulting in strain-dependent variations in its thermoelectric properties. Published under license by AIP Publishing.