physica status solidi (b)
An analysis of the resonant tunneling‐time based on the presence‐time formalism
Óscar del Barco
Abstract
Abstract We analyze the tunneling‐time of a spatial wave packet which traverses a resonant structure by means of the presence‐time formalism. With this method we can evaluate the finite size effects of the corresponding energy probability distribution in the tunneling‐time. We show that these effects are not negligible and reduce the tunneling‐time by 25%. An expression for the resonant tunneling‐time is derived, 3ħ/2Γr, where Γr is the width of the resonance. We confirm numerically this result for two resonant structures: a superlattice with n cells and square‐barrier periodic potential, and an asymmetrical rectangular double‐barrier potential. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)