Vortex trapping and expulsion in thin-film type-II superconducting strips

TL;DR

This paper models vortex trapping in thin-film superconducting strips, incorporating pairing energy, and verifies the model experimentally with good agreement, analyzing vortex distributions in different materials.

Contribution

Introduces a comprehensive model for vortex trapping that includes pairing energy and validates it through experimental data on YBa2Cu3O7-delta and Nb strips.

Findings

Model accurately predicts critical trapping fields.

Good agreement between theory and experiment.

Distinct vortex distribution patterns in different materials.

Abstract

Vortex trapping is investigated in thin-film strips of superconducting material. We present a model for the critical field above which vortex trapping occurs in these strips. This model includes the pairing energy of vortex-antivortex pairs in addition to the energy of single vortices. Experimental verification of the model with a scanning SQUID microscope shows very good agreement between the model and experiments on YBa2Cu3O7-delta and Nb strips. Statistical analysis of the vortex distribution in the strips above the critical field has been performed and a comparison has been made between Nb and YBa2Cu3O7-delta for the distributions in the lateral and longitudinal directions.