Origin of resonant tunneling through single-point barriers

TL;DR

This paper explains the physical origin of resonant tunneling in single-point barriers by analyzing a double-layer heterostructure in the squeezing limit, revealing conditions for perfect transmission and reflection based on interface reflection coefficients.

Contribution

It provides a detailed theoretical analysis of the origin of resonant tunneling in single-point barriers using a double-layer heterostructure model in the squeezing limit.

Findings

Resonant transmission occurs at discrete parameter values.

Beyond resonance, the structure acts as a perfect reflector.

Transmission amplitude depends on interface reflection coefficients.

Abstract

The physical interpretation of the appearance of resonant transmission through single-point barriers is discussed on the basis of a double-layer heterostructure in the squeezing limit as both the thickness of the layers and the distance between them tend to zero simultaneously. In this limit, the electron transmission through a barrier-well structure is derived to be non-zero at certain discrete values of the system parameters forming the so-called resonance set, while beyond this set, the structure behaves as a perfectly reflecting wall. The origin of this phenomenon is shown to result from the reflection coefficients at the interfaces in the inter-layer space. The transmission amplitude is computed as a set function defined on the trihedral angle surface in a three-dimensional parameter space.