Tuning vortex confinement by magnetic domains in a superconductor/ferromagnet bilayer

Marta Z. Cieplak, Z. Adamus, M. Kończykowski, L. Y. Zhu, X. M. Cheng, and C. L. Chien
Phys. Rev. B 87, 014519 – Published 31 January 2013

Abstract

We use a line of miniature Hall sensors to study the effect of magnetic-domain-induced vortex confinement on the flux dynamics in a superconductor/ferromagnet bilayer. A single tunable bilayer is built of a ferromagnetic Co/Pt multilayer with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and a superconducting Nb layer, with the insulating layer in-between to avoid the proximity effect. The magnetic-domain patterns of various geometries are reversibly predefined in the Co/Pt multilayer using the appropriate magnetization procedure. The magnetic-domain geometry strongly affects vortex dynamics, leading to geometry-dependent trapping of vortices at the sample edge, nonuniform flux penetration, and strongly nonuniform critical current density. With the decreasing temperature, the magnetic pinning increases, but this increase is substantially weaker than that of the intrinsic pinning. The analysis of the initial flux penetration suggests that vortices may form various vortex structures, including disordered Abrikosov lattice or single and double vortex chains, in which minimal vortex-vortex distance is comparable to the magnetic penetration depth.

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  • Received 14 May 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.87.014519

©2013 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Marta Z. Cieplak1,2, Z. Adamus1,3, M. Kończykowski3, L. Y. Zhu2,*, X. M. Cheng2,4, and C. L. Chien2

  • 1Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, 02 668 Warsaw, Poland
  • 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA
  • 3Laboratoire des Solides Irradies, École Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau, France
  • 4Department of Physics, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania 19010-2899, USA

  • *Current address: Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois.

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Vol. 87, Iss. 1 — 1 January 2013

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