Vortex trapping is investigated in thin-film strips of superconducting material. We present a model for the critical field above which vortex trapping occurs in these strips. This model includes the pairing energy of vortex-antivortex pairs in addition to the energy of single vortices. Experimental verification of the model with a scanning SQUID microscope shows very good agreement between the model and experiments on YBa2Cu3O7-delta and Nb strips. Statistical analysis of the vortex distribution in the strips above the critical field has been performed and a comparison has been made between Nb and YBa2Cu3O7-delta for the distributions in the lateral and longitudinal directions.
@article{arxiv.0809.2930,
title = {Vortex trapping and expulsion in thin-film type-II superconducting strips},
author = {K. H. Kuit and J. R. Kirtley and J. R. Clem and H. Rogalla and J. Flokstra},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0809.2930},
year = {2015}
}