Lower critical field and vortices configuration in 2D superconducting junction arrays

Summary In order to describe properly the magnetic status of a 2D superconducting junction array, one has to consider not only the effect of the screening currents but also that of the particular experimental protocol followed to measure the physical quantities of interest like, for example, the magnetization. We show that the value of the lower critical field,f _c1, of the junction array depends strongly on the intensity of the screening currents,i.e. on the strength of the junction coupling,E _j, and that reliable results can be obtained only by considering the full-inductance matrix. We also show that the magnetic configuration of the vortices may depend on the particular experimental approach followed (static or dynamic) and, even, in some cases, on the initial configuration of the phases. Paper presented at the ?VII Congresso SATT?, Torino, 4–7 October 1994.