Transport Properties of Superconducting Nanomeshes Fabricated Using Porous Aluminum Oxide Templates

It is known that critical superconducting phenomena in thin films are enhanced with the introduction of artificial pinning centers (APCs) into the films. Additionally, matching field anomalies in the film resistance and critical currents are observed. In this work, we have fabricated hexagonal arrays of holes in superconducting niobium thin films using porous anodic aluminum oxide templates. The hole diameters are 50 nm with an inner hole separation of 100 nm. Standard four-point measurements have been used to investigate the effect of the hole array on the longitudinal and transverse transport properties of the thin films. Results from these measurements will be presented. This work was supported by NSF grant nos. DMR-0080054 and NSF-0132534.