Stabilization of vortex-antivortex configurations in mesoscopic superconductors by engineered pinning

Abstract

Symmetry-induced vortex-antivortex configurations in superconducting squares and triangles were predicted earlier; yet, they have not been resolved in experiment up to date. Namely, with vortex-antivortex states being highly unstable with respect to defects and temperature fluctuations, it is very unlikely that samples can be fabricated with the needed quality. Here we show how these drawbacks can be overcome by strategically placed nanoholes in the sample. As a result, (i) the actual shape of the sample becomes far less important, (ii) the stability of the vortex-antivortex configurations in general is substantially enhanced, and (iii) states comprising novel giant-antivortices (with higher winding numbers) become energetically favorable in perforated disks. In the analysis, we stress the potent of strong screening to destabilize the vortex-antivortex states. In turn, the screening-symmetry competition favors stabilization of new asymmetric ground states, which arise for small values of the effective Ginzburg-Landau parameter kappa.

12 pages, 20 figures

References in corpus (7)

• Non-Quantized Penetration of Magnetic Field in the Vortex State of Superconductors
• Stable vortex-antivortex molecules in mesoscopic superconducting triangles
• Symmetric and non-symmetric vortex-antivortex molecules in fourfold superconducting geometry
• Vortex-antivortex nucleation in magnetically nanotextured superconductors: Magnetic-field-driven and thermal scenarios
• Phase transitions in the mesoscopic superconducting square
• Vortex-antivortex configurations and their stability in mesoscopic superconducting square
• Current density inhomogeneity throughout the thickness of superconducting films and its effect on their irreversible magnetic properties

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Model for Vortex-core tunneling spectroscopy of chiral p-wave superconductors via odd-frequency pairing states
• (Giant) Vortex - (anti) vortex interaction in bulk superconductors: The Ginzburg-Landau theory
• Vortex states in mesoscopic superconducting squares: Formation of vortex shells
• Unconventional vortex states in nanoscale superconductors due to shape-induced resonances in the inhomogeneous Cooper-pair condensate
• Vortex states in nanoscale superconducting squares: the influence of quantum confinement
• Second generation of vortex-antivortex states in mesoscopic superconductors: stabilization by artificial pinning
• Excess of topological defects induced by confinement in vortex nanocrystals
• Origin of Matching Effect in Anti-dot Array of Superconducting NbN Thin Films