Small-number arrays of intrinsic Josephson junctions

Arrays of nanometre-thick Bi2212-intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJ’s) are studied in various geometries. The samples with only a few IJJ’s allow for the intrinsic-tunnelling spectroscopy with minimum of Joule heating. The reproducible low-voltage peaks of the spectra probably stem from a superconducting gap which is half the usual size. We estimate the internal temperature in the IJJ stacks and analyze the importance of the self-heating for the macroscopic-quantum-tunnelling experiments involving IJJ’s.