Vortex pinning in superconductors laterally modulated by nanoscale self-assembled arrays

Being the exponent of the so-called bottom-up approach, self-assembled structures are now-a-days attracting a lot of attention in the fields of science and technology. In this work, we show that nanoscale self-assembled arrays used as templates can provide periodic modulation in superconducting thin films by studying their vortex pinning properties. In this work advantage was made of the fact that self-organized assemblies of identical units such as colloidal crystals and anodic aluminum oxide provide extended periodic topographic surfaces. By directly growing Nb on top of these self-assembled arrays, the templating effect was exploited in order to achieve triangular and honeycomb arrays of pinning centers in thin superconducting films. We show experimentally that periodic matching is achieved in both systems at magnetic fields, well above those present in lithographically prepared pinning arrays (up to 1 T!). Furthermore, we demonstrate in the case of anodic aluminum oxide that the presence of porous antidots in Nb not only provides strongly increased critical currents but also conserves matching at temperatures well below the critical temperature. The studies conducted on these systems indicate that the method of template growth might be considered as a viable alternative for the incorporation of periodic pinning arrays in superconducting applications of today and the future. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.