Abstract
The current-voltage (I-V) properties along the c axis of stripe-ordered La1.6-xNd0.4SrxCuO4 (LNSCO, x=0.10, 0.12, 0.15, and 0.18) bulk single crystals are studied. For all the samples, the I-V curves exhibit Josephson junctionlike characteristics, the voltage jumps at some critical currents and clear hysteresis without multiple branches appears below the superconducting transition temperatures. With increasing Sr doping level, the characteristics of intrinsic Josephson junctions in LNSCO change from a superconductor-insulator-superconductor type to a superconductor-normal metal-superconductor one. The field dependence of critical current I-c exhibits a periodical perturbation with a large scale of magnetic field. A fourfold symmetry of the angular dependent I-c for the rotation of the CuO2 plane in magnetic fields confirms the vortex pinning effect of the static stripes. The abrupt jump of voltage at a rather large I-c in LNSCO may be used as a high-power current restrictor or switch. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3524214]