Transient effects and delay time in the dynamics of resonant tunneling

Abstract

We consider an analytic solution of the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation with the initial condition \ensuremath{\psi}(x,0)=exp(ikx) along -\ensuremath{\infty}0 to investigate the time evolution for x>0 of the wave function in a double-barrier resonant structure at resonance. For typical parameters of the structure we find that the single-resonance approximation is valid from a few tenths of the corresponding lifetime onward. Very short times require the contribution of many far away resonances. The buildup time along the internal region takes a few lifetimes. At birth the transmitted wave front is blurred; however, for long times it becomes well defined and moves with classical velocity yielding a delay time \ensuremath{\tau}\ensuremath{\approx}2\ensuremath{\hbar}/\ensuremath{\Gamma} as in the stationary-phase treatment.