XIIIth REFRESHER COURSE IN PHYSICS

UGC ASC UTKAL UNIVERSITY

BHUBANESWAR
04/03/2011 TO 24/03/2011

PARTICIPANT SEMINAR

TOPIC

BY

MR. CHITTARANJAN BISWAL

SENIOR LECTURER IN PHYSICS
V.N. (AUTO) COLLEGE
JAJPUR ROAD, ODISHA
 QUANTUM – MECHANICAL TUNNELING
MR. CHITTARANJAN BISWAL
V.N. (AUTO) COLLEGE
JAJPUR ROAD

The tunnel effect actually occurs in physical phenomena like α –

particles emitted by certain radioactive nuclei. An α – particle whose
kinetic energy is only a few MeV is capable to escape from a nucleus
whose potential wall is perhaps 25 MeV high. The probability of escape is
so small that the α – particle might have to strike the wall 1038 or more
times before it emerges, but sooner or later it does get out.

Tunneling also occurs in operation of certain semiconductor diodes

in which electrons pass through potential barriers even with kinetic
energies smaller than the barriers heights.

Let us consider a situation in which a particle strikes a potential

barrier of height U and of finite width L, with energy E˂U. it is seen that
the particle has a certain probability of passing through the barrier and
emerging on the other side. The particle lacks the energy to go over the top
of the barrier, but it can tunnel through it. The higher the barrier height and
the wider it is, the less the chance that the particle can get through.

ψI+
ψIII+
U
E
I II III ψII
ψI-

X=0 X=L X
 Let us consider a beam of identical particles all of which have the
kinetic energy E. the beam is incident from the left on the potential barrier
of height U and width L. On both sides of the barrier U = 0 implying that
no forces act on the particles there. The wave-function ψI+ represents the
incoming particles moving to right and ψI- represents the reflected particles
moving to left. ψIII represents the transmitted particles moving to right.
The wave function ψII represents the particles inside the barrier, some of
which end of in region III while the others return to region I.

Outside the barrier in region I & III Schrodinger’s equation for the
particle takes the forms
d2ψI 2m
+ EψI = 0
dx 2 ħ2

d2ψIII 2m
+ EψIII = 0
2
dx2 ħ

The solutions to these equations are

ψI = AeiK1x + Be-iK1x …………….(i)

ψIII = FeiK1x + G e-iK1x


Where K1 =
 ħ = P/ ħ = is


the wave number of the de Broglie waves

that represents the particle outside the
barrier.
 2
Here ψI+ = AeiK1x is the incoming wave of amplitude A. ψI+ is the
probability density of the incident beam of particles. If υI+ is the group
velocity of the incoming wave, which equals the velocity of the particles,
2
Then ψI+ υI+ is the flux of particles that arrive at the barrier.

At x = 0, the incident wave strikes the barrier and is partially reflected,

with ψI- = Be-iK1x representing the reflected wave.

Hence ψ = ψI+ + ψI-

On the far side of the barrier (X>L) there can only be a transmitted
wave ψIII+ = FeiK1x travelling in the +x direction with velocity υIII+. Since
region III contains nothing that could reflect the wave, G = 0

So ψIII+ = ψIII = FeiK1x ………………(ii)

The transmission probability T is the fraction of the incident

particles that succeed in tunneling through the barrier is the ratio between
the outgoing flux to the incoming flux,

ψIII+ 2υIII+ FF* υIII+

i.e., T = =
2
ψI+ υI+ AA* υI+

Classically T = 0 because a particle with energy E˂U cannot exist inside

the barrier. But quantum mechanics tells something different. In region II
Schrodinger’s equation for the particle is

d2ψII 2m
+ (E – U)ψII = 0
2 2
dx ħ
 d2ψII 2m
=> - (E – U)ψII = 0
2
dx ħ 2

Since U>E the solution is ψII = Ce-K2x + DeK2x ……………..(iii)

Where the wave number inside the barrier is

(
)
K2=
ℏ

Since the exponents are real quantities, ψII does not oscillate and
therefore does not represent a moving particle. However the probability
density ψII 2 is not zero. So there is a finite probability of finding a particle
within the barrier. Such a particle may emerge into region III or it may
return to region I.

Applying the Boundary Conditions:


Both ψ and its derivatives must be continuous everywhere, i.e., the


wave functions inside and outside of the barrier must have the same value
and the same slope.

At the left hand side of the barrier,

ψI = ψII
dψI = dψII
dx dx
At the right hand side of the barrier,

ψII = ψIII
dψII = dψIII
dx dx
 Now Substituting ψI, ψII, and ψIII from eqns (i), (iii) & (ii) into the above
eqns, they yield in the same order

A+B = C+D ………………(iv)

iK1A – iK1B = - K2C + K2D ………………(v)
Ce-K2L + DeK2L = FeiK1L ………………..(vi)
- K2Ce-K2L + K2DeK2L = iK1FeiK1L …………(vii)

Eqns (iv), (v), (vi), (vii) may be solved to give

A 1 i K2 K1 1 i K2 K1
(iK +K )L
= + - e 1 2 + - - e(iK1-K2)L
F 2 4 K1 K2 2 4 K1 K2

……………………….(viii)

I II III

X=0 X=L
 Let us assume that the potential barrier U is very high relative to the
energy E of the incident particle.

Then,
K2 K1 K2 K1 K2
>> => - ᴝ
K1 K 2 K1 K 2 K1
Let us also assume that the barrier is wide enough for ψII to be severely
weakened between x = 0 & x = L => K2 >> 1

Hence eK2L >> e-K2L

Hence eqn (viii) can be approximated as

A 1 iK2
= + e(iK1+K2)L
F 2 4K1

AA* 1 iK2
= - e(iK1+K2)L e(-iK1+K2)L
FF* 2 4K1

AA* 1 K22
=> = + e2K2L
FF* 4 16K12

υIII+
Here υIII+ = υI+, so =1
υI+
Hence transmission probability is
-1
FF* AA* 16
T= = = e-2K2L ………..(ix)
2
AA* FF* 4+ K2
K1
From the definition,
2 2 U-E
K2 2m(U – E)/ħ U
= = = -1
2mE/ħ 2 E E
K1

It means that the quantity in brackets in eqn (ix) varies much less with E &
U than does the exponential. The bracketed quantity always is of the order
of magnitude of 1 in value. A reasonable approximation of the
transmission probability is therefore

T = e-2K1/2

From the above expression it is clear that there is a transmission, however

small it may be, into a classically forbidden region. This is quantum
mechanical tunneling; an outcome of the wave nature of the particle.