THERMALLY INDUCED TRANSITION IN THE VORTEX LATTICE OF Ge / Pb MULTILAYEi

We report on a novel magnetic field dependence of the critical current density of M.B.E. grown Ge/Pb insulator/superconductor multilayers. When the magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the layers, the critical current density Jc drops to a minimum, followed by a broad maximum before finally decaying monotonously to zero with increasing magnetic field. The dependence of this effect on pinning strength, temperatu~, and layer thickness suggests either a thermally driven coupling/decoupling transition, or melting of the ~ortex lattice.