The c-axis transport properties of a high-pressure synthesized PrFeAsO0.7 single crystal are studied using s-shaped junctions. Resistivity anisotropy of about 120 detected at 50 K shows the presence of strong anisotropy in the electronic states. The obtained critical current density for the c-axis of 2.9*10^5 A/cm^2 is two orders of magnitude larger than that in Bi2Sr1.6La0.4CuO6+d. The appearance of a hysteresis in the current-voltage curve below T_c is the manifestation of the intrinsic Josephson effect similar to that in cuprate superconductors. The suppression of the critical current-normal resistance (I_cR_n) product is explained by an inspecular transport in s_pm-wave pair potential.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

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The in situ fabrication of YBCO (YBa2Cu3O y )/MgO/Au epitaxial planar tunnel junctions with a thin MgO barrier utilizing an electron-beam coevaporation technique is reported. The thickness of the MgO barrier is 3–12 nm and the tunnel resistance shows a strong dependence on barrier thickness. The fabricated tunnel junctions are highly reproducible and controllable. The observed tunnel characteristics contain the gap opening at about 20 mV and the anomaly around zero bias. The tunnel characteristics using the degraded films are also reported.

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