Confinement effects on mixed state in superconducting prisms

Abstract

In this article, we theoretically investigated the vortex configuration of mesoscopic samples of different geometries, imbedded in an external magnetic field. We use the Ginzburg-Landau theory to obtain the spatial distribution of the superconducting electron density in long prisms with a square and triangular cross-section. Taking into account de Gennes boundary conditions via the extrapolation length, b, we study the properties of a mesoscopic superconducting square surrounded by different materials (metallic and another superconductor at higher critical temperature) in the presence of an external magnetic field applied perpendicularly to the square surface. The b-limit for the occurrence of a single vortex in the sample of area d² is determined. Also, we obtain the vortex configurations for a mesoscopic triangle with the magnetic field applied perpendicularly to a sample plane. In most of the configurations, the vortices present twofold or threefold symmetry