Strong vortex matching effects in YBCO films with periodic modulations of the superconducting order parameter fabricated by masked ion irradiation

We report on measurements of the magnetoresistance and of the critical current in thin films of the high-temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO). A square array of regions with suppressed superconducting order parameter has been created in these films by introducing point defects via irradiation with He+ ions through a silicon stencil mask. In such a structure distinct peaks of the critical current can be observed at commensurate arrangements of magnetic flux quanta with the artificial defect lattice. Concurrently, the magnetoresistance shows pronounced minima. Both observations demonstrate that the strong intrinsic pinning in YBCO can be overcome by a periodic array of ion-damage columns with 300 nm spacing.