Magnetization controlled effects in overlap Josephson junctions coupled with submicron magnetic dots

The effect of submicron ferromagnetic particle on the field-dependent critical current of a short overlap Josephson junction is experimentally studied. Strong reversible variations of the maximum critical current are observed depending on the magnetic state of the particle. Pronounced commensurability effects are detected due to the presence of the additional peaks in the magnetic field induced diffraction pattern. The changes in the Fraunhofer pattern of the Josephson junctions are account for the formation of Abrikosov vortices trapped in the electrodes and inducing a phase inhomogeneity in the junction area