Corrections were made to information presented in Figure 2 of "Thermoelectric generation based on spin Seebeck effects," by Uchida, F. et al., Proc. IEEE, 2016 (DOI: 10.1109/JPROC.2016.2535167).

The spin Seebeck effect (SSE) refers to the generation of a spin current as a result of a temperature gradient in magnetic materials including insulators. The SSE is applicable to thermoelectric generation because the thermally generated spin current can be converted into a charge current via spin-orbit interaction in conductive materials adjacent to the magnets. The insulator-based SSE device exhibits unconventional characteristics potentially useful for thermoelectric applications, such as simple structure, device-design flexibility, and convenient scaling capability. In this article, we review recent studies on the SSE from the viewpoint of thermoelectric applications. Firstly, we introduce the thermoelectric generation process and measurement configuration of the SSE, followed by showing fundamental characteristics of the SSE device. Secondly, a theory of the thermoelectric conversion efficiency of the SSE device is presented, which clarifies the difference between the SSE and conventional thermoelectric effects and the efficiency limit of the SSE device. Finally, we show preliminary demonstrations of the SSE in various device structures for future thermoelectric applications and discuss prospects of the SSE-based thermoelectric technologies.

Single-flux quantum logic (SFQ) circuits, in which a flux quantum is used as an information carrier, have the possibility for opening the door to a new digital system operated at over 100-GHz clock frequency at extremely low power dissipation. The SFQ logic system is a so-called pulse logic, which is completely different from the level logic for semiconductors like CMOS, so circuit design technologies for SFQ logic circuits have to be newly developed. Recently, much progress in basic technologies for designing SFQ circuits and operating circuits at high speeds has been made. With advances in these design tools, large-scale circuits including more than several thousand junctions can be easily operated with the clock frequency of more than several tens of gigahertz. High-end routers and high-end computers are possible applications of SFQ logic circuits because of their high throughput nature and the low power dissipation of SFQ logic. In this paper, recent advances of SFQ circuit design technologies and recent developments of switches for high-end routers and microprocessors for high-end computers that are considered possible applications for SFQ logic will be described.