PHYS 30101 Applications of quantum physics, lecture 4

Resonant tunnelling

 

Tunnelling probability

The tunnelling probability through a pair of high barriers separated by a distance a=1, as a function of wavenumber k. Note the regularly-spaced, narrow resonances where the probability is unity. (The first few peaks are so narrow that they can't be plotted accurately. A higher resolution would show that all of them peak at 1.) The resonances sit close to multiples of π, the allowed values of k for an infinite square well of width 1. As the energy increases, it gets easier for the particle to tunnel through the barriers and so the resonances get broader.

 

5th October 2011