Extended object tunneling: Current-carrying states of Abrikosov vortices in a superconductor with artificial nanobarriers

Abstract

We consider the structure and dynamics of two-dimensional fluxons created by a magnetic field in a type-II superconductor film with critical temperature T-1 in the presence of nanostripes of material with a higher critical temperature T-2. The width of the stripes is of the order of the coherence length xi. Such a stripe plays the role of a potential barrier for vortices. When subjected to the current J parallel to the stripe, vortices move toward the barrier. Below the critical current J(c), the flux flow is effectively halted by the barrier, while above J(c), flux penetrates the stripe and passes the barrier. The mechanism of the barrier penetration ("soliton tunneling" occurs even at zero temperature) is rather unusual: the vortices adjust their shape, and upon passing the barrier, they shrink their cores. The critical current and the I-V curves are calculated numerically and analytically using variational approach.