Derivation and correction of the Tsu–Esaki tunneling current formula
- 15 July 1989
- journal article
- Published by AIP Publishing in Journal of Applied Physics
- Vol. 66 (2) , 693-696
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.343539
Abstract
The theoretical basis of the Tsu–Esaki tunneling current formula [Appl. Phys. Lett. 22, 562 (1973)] is examined in detail and corrections are found. The starting point is an independent particle picture with fully antisymmetrized N-electron wave functions. Unitarity is used to resolve an orthonormality issue raised in earlier work. A new set of mutually consistent equations is derived for bias voltage, tunneling current, and electron densities in the emitter and collector. Corrections include a previously noted kinematic factor and a modification of emitter and collector Fermi levels. The magnitude of the corrections is illustrated numerically for the case of a resonant tunneling current-voltage characteristic.This publication has 6 references indexed in Scilit:
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