By means of electrical transport measurements we have studied the rectified motion of vortices in ratchet potentials engineered on overdamped Josephson junction arrays. The rectified voltage as a function of the vortex density shows a maximum efficiency close a matching condition to the period of the ratchet potential indicating a collective vortex motion. Vortex current reversals were detected varying the driving force and vortex density revealing the influence of vortex-vortex interaction in the ratchet effect.

• Received 18 November 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.177001