In situ measurement of self-heating in intrinsic tunneling spectroscopy.

Using advanced sample engineering we performed simultaneous measurements of interlayer tunneling characteristics and in situ monitoring of temperature in Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8 + delta) (Bi-2212) mesas. Together with a systematic study of size dependence of interlayer tunneling, this allowed unambiguous discrimination between artifacts of self-heating and gaps in the electronic spectra of Bi-2212. Such a confident spectroscopic information, which is not affected by self-heating or surface deterioration, was obtained for the first time for a high-T(c) superconductor. We also derived general expressions and formulated main principles of self-heating valid for a large variety of materials.