Nernst-Ettingshausen effect in thin Pt and W films at low temperatures

As spin caloritronic measurements become increasingly common techniques for characterizing material properties, it is important to quantify potentially confounding effects. We report measurements of the Nernst-Ettingshausen response from room temperature to 5 K in thin film wires of Pt and W, metals commonly used as inverse spin Hall detectors in spin Seebeck characterization. Johnson-Nyquist noise thermometry is used to assess the temperature change of the metals with heater power at low temperatures, and the thermal path is analyzed via finite-element modeling. The Nernst-Ettingshausen response of W is found to be approximately temperature-independent, while the response of Pt increases at low temperatures. These results are discussed in the context of theoretical expectations and the possible role of magnetic impurities in Pt.