A new type of thermoelectric current effect is derived for tunneling through oxide barriers between metals at different temperatures, for both superconducting and normal tunnel junctions. This effect was observed in both current and voltage measurements on Al-PbBi tunnel junctions in which one electrode was heated by laser irradiation. The existence of this thermoelectric effect may resolve long-standing discrepancies between experimental results and theoretical predictions for a series of point-contact experiments.

• Received 23 June 1980

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.22.4346