Joule heating induced by vortex motion in a type-II superconductor - art. no. 094511

We present experiments that determine the temperature increase in a type-II superconductor due to Joule heating induced by vortex motion. The effect o f Joule heating is detected by comparing the response of the vortex lattice to fixed amplitude current steps of short (10 mus) and long (4 s) duration , where the Joule heating is negligible and saturates, respectively. The th ermometry is based on the temperature dependence of the voltage response of the vortex lattice to a driving current. By monitoring the temperature inc rease in NbSe2 samples adhered on a sapphire substrate with GE varnish we o btain the effective heat transfer coefficient between the sample and the ba th and show that the heating is primarily due to the power dissipated by th e vortex motion.