Magnetic Pinning in Nb and YBCO Thin Films by Co/Pt Multilayers with Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy

Magnetic pinning of vortices has the advantage over intrinsic pinning in that the superconducting critical current can be reversibly tuned by the magnetic field (H). Magnetic pinning by Co/Pt multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy has been studied in two ferromagnetic/superconducting bilayers of Nb and YBCO with different superconducting properties (e.g. penetration depth $\lambda )$. Magnetic force microscopy reveals similar magnetization (M) reversal process in the two cases, both exhibiting a large density of narrow residual domains but with different domain width w at the final reversal stage. However, the magnetic pinning, revealed by the M-H loop shape in the superconducting state, is different. The Nb film exhibits an enhancement of M with the strongest effect during the final reversal stage, while the YBCO film shows a suppression of M in the vicinity of central M peak and an enhancement of M in large magnetic fields. These different behaviors are related to the different $\lambda $/w ratio in the two cases.