Large asymmetric anomalous Nernst effect in the antiferromagnet SrIr$_{0.8}$Sn$_{0.2}$O$_3$

Abstract

A large anomalous Nernst effect is essential for thermoelectric energy harvesting in the transverse geometry without external magnetic field. It is often connected with anomalous Hall effect, especially when electronic Berry curvature is believed to be the driving force. This approach implicitly assumes the same symmetry for the Nernst and Hall coefficients, which is however not necessarily true. Here we report a large anomalous Nernst effect in antiferromagnetic SrIr$_{0.8}$Sn$_{0.2}$O$_3$ that defies the antisymmetric constraint on the anomalous Hall effect imposed by the Onsager reciprocal relation. The observed spontaneous Nernst thermopower quickly reaches the sub-$\mu$V/K level below the N\'eel transition around 250 K, which is comparable with many topological antiferromagnetic semimetals and far excels other magnetic oxides. Our analysis indicates that the coexistence of significant symmetric and antisymmetric contributions plays a key role, pointing to the importance of extracting both contributions and a new pathway to enhanced anomalous Nernst effect for transverse thermoelectrics