This project investigate how heat and electrical charge move together in (bulk) correlated insulators. These materials are especially interesting for the correlated insulators where it has been identified that the conducting surface exists in addition to the insulating bulk. We expect that the conducting surface and the insulating bulk can contribute very differently to thermoelectric transport. By measuring quantities such as the voltage generated by a temperature difference, and by surface modification, we aim to understand how thermoelectric transport channels are redistributed between the bulk and the surface. Ultimately, this work may reveal new ways to control heat and charge in quantum materials and help identify principles that may be important for future energy-conversion and electronic technologies.

Thermal and thermoelectric transport measurement setup (Mark1). Custom puck assembly for low-temperature transport measurements (developed with design input from Prof. Gaël Grissonnanche).