AC susceptibility of thin Pb films in intermediate and mixed state

Thickness dependent transition in AC susceptibility between intermediate and mixed state in type-I superconducting films. The temperature induced crossover between reversible and irreversible behavior was observed in the thicker film. The temperature dependence of the AC susceptibility in mixed state follows prediction of model based on Bean critical state. The temperature dependence of the harmonics of the complex AC susceptibility in the intermediate state is explained. Thin films of type I superconductors of a thickness comparable or less than a flux penetration length behave like type II superconductors in a mixed state. With decreasing film thickness normal domains carrying a magnetic flux get smaller with smaller number of flux quanta per domain and finally transform into single quantum flux lines, i.e. quantum vortices similar to those found in type II superconductors. We give an evidence of this behavior from the measurements of the nonlinear response of a total magnetic moment to an applied AC magnetic field, directly from the temperature dependence of an AC susceptibility.