SIMPLE THEORY OF TUNNELING AND ITS DEPENDENCE ON A MAGNETIC FIELD

Abstract

The problem of tunneling in solids is formulated as a time-independent collision problem. The tunneling probability is found in the effective particle and WKB approximations by elementary calculations. The rate of Zener tunneling in an insulator is calculated on the basis of this simple theory and found to be in essential agreement with more rigorous calculations. A detailed expression for the tunnel current in an Esaki diode is derived and discussed. The effect of a longitudinal magnetic field is considered in detail. The case of a transverse magnetic field is briefly discussed. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 24, 1961
Accession Number
AD0257184

Entities

People

  • B. Lax
  • P.n. Argyres

Organizations

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Collisions
  • Dielectrics
  • Diodes
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Particles
  • Probability
  • Quantum Tunneling
  • Transverse
  • Tunnel Diodes
  • Tunneling
  • Tunnels

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Plasma Physics / Magnetohydrodynamics
  • Semiconductor Device Technology

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics