Normal-state c-axis resistivity of the high-T_c cuprate superconductors

Abstract

It is shown that a strong intraplanar incoherent scattering can effectively block the interplanar coherent tunneling between the weakly coupled planes of the highly anisotropic but clean (intrinsic) materials such as the optimally doped high-T_c layered cuprate superconductors. The calculated normal-state c-axis resistivity ρ_c(T) then follows the metal-like temperature dependence of the ab-plane resistivity ρ_ab(T) at high temperatures. At low enough temperatures, however, ρ_c(T) exhibits a non-metal like upturn even as ρ_ab(T) remains metallic. Moreover, in the metallic regime, ρ_c(T) is not limited by the maximum metallic resistivity of Mott-Ioffe-Regel. This correlation between the intrinsic ρ_c(T) and ρ_ab(T) is observed in the normal state of the high-T_c stoichiometric cuprates.