Properties of nanopatterned pins generated in a superconductor with FIB

► Using Ion-beam Induced Nanopatterning, we have generated regions with artificial pinning centers in superconducting samples. ► By comparing the magnetization response associated with artificial and natural pinning centers we unravel remarkable difference in response associated with the two types of pins. ► In the nanopatterned sample we observe a large drive dependent enhancement in pinning which depends on the field range at which the experiment is performed. ► The pattered regions are found to sustain highly non-uniform field gradients whose behavior just inside and outside the patterned region exhibit very different character.