Strong field-matching effects in superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-{\delta} films with vortex energy landscapes engineered via masked ion irradiation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel masked ion irradiation method to engineer vortex energy landscapes in YBa2Cu3O7-{ extdelta} films, revealing how tailored landscapes influence vortex behavior across various conditions.

Contribution

The study presents a new technique for designing nanoscale vortex energy landscapes in superconductors and demonstrates its impact on flux dynamics and field matching effects.

Findings

Engineered vortex landscapes modulate flux behavior.

Vortex channeling significantly affects field matching effects.

Artificial landscapes govern vortex dynamics over wide temperature and field ranges.

Abstract

We have developed a masked ion irradiation technique to engineer the energy landscape for vortices in oxide superconductors. This approach associates the possibility to design the landscape geometry at the nanoscale with the unique capability to adjust depth of the energy wells for vortices. This enabled us to unveil the key role of vortex channeling in modulating the amplitude of the field matching effects with the artificial energy landscape, and to make the latter govern flux dynamics over an usually wide range of temperatures and applied fields.