Pinning forces in Nb/CuMn multilayers

Nb/CuMn multilayers, with different CuMn layer thicknesses and Mn concentration have been realized by sputtering. On the patterned superconducting samples the transport properties have been measured at different temperatures and external parallel and perpendicular magnetic fields. The pinning force curves obtained in the case of perpendicular magnetic fields, clearly present a temperature scaling indicating a common pinning mechanism active at all the investigated temperatures, while in the case of parallel magnetic fields such scaling was not observed. The dependence of the pinning forces upon the Mn concentration has also been investigated. Preliminary measurements on Nb/CuMn samples with a regular array of artificial dots are also presented.