Hybrid superconducting/magnetic nanostructures on Si substrates have been
built with identical physical dimensions but different magnetic configurations.
By constructing arrays based on Co-dots with in-plane, out-of-plane, and vortex
state magnetic configurations, the stray fields are systematically tuned.
Dissipation in the mixed state of superconductors can be decreased (increased)
by several orders of magnitude by decreasing (increasing) the stray magnetic
fields. Furthermore, ordering of the stray fields over the entire array helps
to suppress dissipation and enhance commensurability effects increasing the
number of dissipation minima.Comment: 16 pages including 4 figures; accepted in Applied Physics Letter
