Simple model for resonant tunneling beyond the effective-mass approximation

Abstract

We evaluate, within a single-band tight-binding model, the resonant transmission probability for a particle through a symmetric barrier-well-barrier potential structure. This is a simplified model of resonant tunneling through (Ga,Al)As-GaAs-(Ga,Al)As heterostructure. We examine both the cases of minimum of the band states at the center (direct-gap tunneling) and at the edge (indirect-gap tunneling) of the Brillouin zone for the barrier material. We show that only the lowest–traveling-wave–energy states, irrespective of their symmetry, dominate the tunneling.