Spin-dependent thermoelectric effect and spin battery mechanism in triple quantum dots with Rashba spin–orbital interaction*

We have studied spin-dependent thermoelectric transport through parallel triple quantum dots with Rashba spin–orbital interaction (RSOI) embedded in an Aharonov–Bohm interferometer connected symmetrically to leads using nonequilibrium Green's function method in the linear response regime. Under the appropriate configuration of magnetic flux phase and RSOI phase, the spin figure of merit can be enhanced and is even larger than the charge figure of merit. In particular, the charge and spin thermopowers as functions of both the magnetic flux phase and the RSOI phase present quadruple-peak structures in the contour graphs. For some specific configuration of the two phases, the device can provide a mechanism that converts heat into a spin voltage when the charge thermopower vanishes while the spin thermopower is not zero, which is useful in realizing the thermal spin battery and inducing a pure spin current in the device.