Nano and spin caloritronic transport through quantum dots

This talk will primarily cover subtle aspects of thermoelectric energy conversion using quantum dots. It was proposed by Mahan and coworkers that quantum dot systems may achieve the Carnot efficiency when employed as a thermoelectric power generator. However, the results were only based on ideal assumptions, and linear response arguments. In the first part of the talk I will present the important working aspects of thermoelectric energy conversion from a thermodynamic perspective, followed by the working performance analysis of quantum dot thermoelectric systems. The role of Coulomb interactions, contact couplings and other transport parameters on the thermoelectric performance will be elucidated in detail from a non-equilibrium calculation. A comparison with the traditional linear response picture and its inadequacies will also be pointed out. In the second part of the talk, I will present a novel thermoelectric method to generate a pure spin current using a quantum dot spin valve set up.