Enhanced pinning and proliferation of matching effects in a superconducting film with a Penrose array of magnetic dots

TL;DR

This study investigates vortex behavior in superconducting films with a Penrose array of magnetic dots, revealing enhanced pinning effects and complex vortex patterns that improve critical current performance.

Contribution

It demonstrates how magnetic dot magnetization influences vortex pinning and pattern formation, introducing a novel approach to control superconducting properties.

Findings

Enhanced critical current in strong pinning regime

Coexistence of periodic and aperiodic matching features

Rich vortex patterns observed with magnetized dots

Abstract

The vortex dynamics in superconducting films deposited on top of a five-fold Penrose array of magnetic dots is studied by means of transport measurements. We show that in the low pinning regime (demagnetized dots) a few periodic and aperiodic matching features coexist. In the strong pinning regime (magnetized dots) a richer structure of unforeseen periodic and aperiodic vortex patterns appear giving rise to a clear enhancement of the critical current in a broader field range. Possible stable vortex configurations are determined by molecular dynamics simulations.