Confinement effects on intermediate-state flux patterns in mesoscopic Type-I superconductors

Intermediate-state flux structures in mesoscopic type-I superconductors are studied within the Ginzburg-Landau theory. In addition to well-established tubular and laminar structures, the strong confinement leads to the formation of (i)a phase of singly quantized vortices, which is typical for type-II superconductors and (ii)a ring of a normal domain at equilibrium. The stability region and the formation process of these intermediate-state structures are strongly influenced by the geometry of the sample.