We investigate vortex pinning in thin superconducting films with a square array of rectangular submicron holes ("antidots"). Two types of antidots are considered: antidots fully perforating the superconducting film, and "blind antidots", holes that perforate the film only up to a certain depth. In both systems, we observe a distinct anisotropy in the pinning properties, reflected in the critical current Ic, depending on the direction of the applied electrical current: parallel to the long side of the antidots or perpendicular to it. Although the mechanism responsible for the effect is very different in the two systems, they both show a higher critical current and a sharper IV-transition when the current is applied along the long side of the rectangular antidots.
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0302199,
title = {Anisotropic vortex pinning in superconductors with a square array of rectangular submicron holes},
author = {L. Van Look and B. Y. Zhu and R. Jonckheere and B. R. Zhao and Z. X. Zhao and V. V. Moshchalkov},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0302199},
year = {2009}
}