Theory of resonant tunneling in heterostructures

For a parallel-plane barrier heterostructure of any form or composition, it is shown by considering the electron quantum states as functions of complex values of the energy that the full linewidth of a resonant peak in the coherent transmission probability, 2 E, and the tunneling lifetime of the quasilevel giving rise to the resonance, are necessarily related by (2 E)=Latin small letter h with stroke, and the conventional wave-packet transit time is 2 at the resonance energy. A formula is obtained for the peak transmission probability in terms of the ratio of the two outward currents for an electron escaping from the quasilevel. © 1988 The American Physical Society.