Observation of domain wall motion in a polycrystalline vortex lattice
Abstract
We present measurements showing how disorder determines the dynamics of a vortex lattice. Using superconductor-normal-superconductor (SNS) arrays placed in finite magnetic fields, disorder is introduced by shifting the field away from values where the vortex lattice is commensurate with the SNS array. By applying a current to drive vortex motion, we observe a two-step transition at incommensurate fields: first from pinned vortices to lattice defect motion, and then from individual defect to bulk vortex lattice flow. This behavior is consistent with a polycrystalline vortex structure where defects form on the edges of crystalline domains. This demonstrates that a disordered, interacting vortex system can favor interface physics rather than a quasiperiodic regime.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1708.03082,
title = {Observation of domain wall motion in a polycrystalline vortex lattice},
author = {Malcolm Durkin and Ian Mondragon-Shem and Taylor L. Hughes and Nadya Mason},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1708.03082},
year = {2017}
}