  We study the transport of vortices excited by an ac current in an Al film
with an array of nanoengineered asymmetric antidots. The vortex response to the
ac current is investigated by detailed measurements of the voltage output as a
function of ac current amplitude, magnetic field and temperature. The
measurements revealed pronounced voltage rectification effects which are mainly
characterized by the two critical depinning forces of the asymmetric potential.
The shape of the net dc voltage as a function of the excitation amplitude
indicates that our vortex ratchet behaves in a way very different from standard
overdamped models. Rather, as demonstrated by the observed output signal, the
repinning force, necessary to stop vortex motion, is considerably smaller than
the depinning force, resembling the behavior of the so-called inertia ratchets.
Calculations based on an underdamped ratchet model provide a very good fit to
the experimental data.
