Second generation of vortex-antivortex states in mesoscopic superconductors: stabilization by artificial pinning

Abstract

Antagonistic symmetries of superconducting polygons and their induced multi-vortex states in a homogeneous magnetic field may lead to appearance of antivortices in the vicinity of the superconducting/normal state boundary (where mesoscopic confinement is particularly strong). Resulting vortex-antivortex (V-Av) molecules match the sample symmetry, but are extremely sensitive to defects and fluctuations and remain undetected experimentally. Here we show that V-Av states can re-appear deep in the superconducting state due to an array of perforations in a polygonal setting, surrounding a central hole. Such states are no longer caused by the symmetry of the sample but rather by pinning itself, which prevents the vortex-antivortex annihilation. As a result, even micron-size, clearly spaced V-Av molecules can be stabilized in large mesoscopic samples.

5 pages, 6 figures

References in corpus (4)

• Experimental Evidence for Giant Vortex States in a Mesoscopic Superconducting Disk
• Symmetric and non-symmetric vortex-antivortex molecules in fourfold superconducting geometry
• Fluxonic Cellular Automata
• Stabilization of vortex-antivortex configurations in mesoscopic superconductors by engineered pinning

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau treatment of RF Magnetic Vortices in Superconductors: Vortex-Semiloops in a Spatially Nonuniform Magnetic Field
• Unconventional vortex states in nanoscale superconductors due to shape-induced resonances in the inhomogeneous Cooper-pair condensate
• Dynamics and heat diffusion of Abrikosov's vortex-antivortex pairs during an annihilation process
• Origin of Matching Effect in Anti-dot Array of Superconducting NbN Thin Films