Scribd
Upload
41 views

2021 PH107 Tutorial09

1. The document discusses several problems involving quantum mechanical scattering and tunneling processes. It examines particles interacting with potential barriers and beams interacting with step potentials. 2. Specific problems calculate transmission and reflection coefficients for various particle energies and barrier configurations. They also determine the probability density and wave functions in different regions of space. 3. The final problem calculates the amplification in tunneling current when the separation between an STM tip and sample is reduced from two atom distances to one atom, assuming a 5V applied voltage and 7eV sample work function.

Uploaded by

Bhakti Matsyapal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
41 views

2021 PH107 Tutorial09

1. The document discusses several problems involving quantum mechanical scattering and tunneling processes. It examines particles interacting with potential barriers and beams interacting with step potentials. 2. Specific problems calculate transmission and reflection coefficients for various particle energies and barrier configurations. They also determine the probability density and wave functions in different regions of space. 3. The final problem calculates the amplification in tunneling current when the separation between an STM tip and sample is reduced from two atom distances to one atom, assuming a 5V applied voltage and 7eV sample work function.

Uploaded by

Bhakti Matsyapal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

PH-107: Introduction to Quantum Mechanics

Tutorial Sheet 9
* marked problems will be solved in the tutorial class (D3-D4: Wednesday, D1-D2: Saturday)

Scattering problems:

1. * A potential barrier is defined by V = 0 for x < 0 and V = V0 for x > 0. Particles with
energy E (< V0 ) approaches the barrier from left.

(a) Find the value of x = x0 (x0 > 0), for which the probability density is 1/e times the
probability density at x = 0.
(b) Take the maximum allowed uncertainty ∆x for the particle to be localized in the
classically forbidden region as x0 . Find the uncertainty this would cause in the
energy of the particle. Can then one be sure that its energy E is less than V0 .

2. Consider a potential

V (x) = 0 for x < 0,


= −V0 for x > 0

Consider a beam of non-relativistic particles of energy E > 0 coming from x → −∞ and


being incident on the potential. Calculate the reflection and transmission coefficients.

3. A potential barrier is defined by V = 0 eV for x < 0 and V = 7 eV for x > 0. A beam


of electrons with energy 3 eV collides with this barrier from left. Find the value of x for
which the probability of detecting the electron will be half the probability of detecting it
at x = 0.

4. * A beam of particles of energy E and de Broglie wavelength λ, traveling along the positive
x-axis in a potential free region, encounters a one-dimensional potential barrier of height
V = E and width L.

(a) Obtain an expression for the transmission coefficient.


(b) Find the value of L (in terms of λ) for which the reflection coefficient will be half.

5. A beam of particles of energy E < V0 is incident on a barrier (see figure below) of height
V = 2V0 . It is claimed that the solution is ψI = A exp(−k
q1 x) for region I (0 < q
x < L) and
2m(2V0 −E) 2m(V0 −E)
ψII = B exp(−k2 x) for region II (x > L), where k1 = ℏ2
and k2 = ℏ2
.
Is this claim correct? Justify your answer.

1
6. * A beam of particles of mass m and energy 9V0 (V0 is a positive constant with the
dimension of energy) is incident from left on a barrier, as shown in figure below. V = 0
for x < 0, V = 5V0 for x ≤ d and V = nV0 for x > d. Here n is a number, positive or
√
negative and d = πh/ 8mV0 . It is found that the transmission coefficient from x < 0
region to x > d region is 0.75.

(a) Find n. Are there more than one possible values for n?
(b) Find the un-normalized wave function in all the regions in terms of the amplitude of
the incident wave for each possible value of n.
(c) Is there a phase change between the incident and the reflected beam at x = 0? If
yes, determine the phase change for each possible value of n. Give your answers by
explaining all the steps and clearly writing the boundary conditions used

7. A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) can be approximated as an electron tunneling


into a step potential [V (x) = 0 for x ≤ 0, V (x) = V0 for x > 0]. The tunneling current
(or probability) in an STM reduces exponentially as a function of the distance from the
sample. Considering only a single electron-electron interaction, an applied voltage of 5 V
and the sample work function of 7 eV, calculate the amplification in the tunneling current
if the separation is reduced from 2 atoms to 1 atom thickness (take approximate size of
an atom to be 3 Å).

You might also like