What if one of the walls of our “box” is not

infinitely high?
V=Infinity

I II V0 III

0 L
What if one of the walls of our “box” is not
infinitely high?
V=Infinity

I II V0 III

0 L
What if both the walls of the box are of finite
height?
What if both the walls of the box are of finite
height?
V(X)
“Finite Square Well“ and E < V0
Introduces very important concept V0
of ”barrier penetration“
Need to solve SEQ in 3 regions: I II III

d2 ψ(x) 2m
+ 2 (E − V )ψ(x) = 0
dx2 ~ L
0
What if both the walls of the box are of finite
height?
V(X)
“Finite Square Well“ and E < V0
Introduces very important concept V0
of ”barrier penetration“
Need to solve SEQ in 3 regions: I II III

d2 ψ(x) 2m
+ 2 (E − V )ψ(x) = 0
dx2 ~ L
0
Region 2: Same as infinite square well: V= ∞ The general solution to the
SEQ in this region is:
r
2π 2m
ψII (x) = B1 sin kx + B2 cos kx, k = = E
λ ~2
What if the walls of our “box” aren’t infinitely
high?

Regions I and III: V(x) = v0

This is a region that is “forbidden“ to V(X)
classical particles.
V0

d2 ψ(x) 2m I II III
+ 2 (E − V )ψ(x) = 0
dx2 ~

0 L
r
d2 ψ(x) 2 2m
2
− k ψ(x) = 0, k = 2
(V0 − E)
dx ~
The general solution to the SEQ in these regions are:

region I : ψI (x) = C1 ekx + C2 e−kx ,

region III : ψIII (x) = D1 ekx + D2 e−kx
 Boundary Conditions

ψ must change smoothly across boundaries, i.e., both ψ and its

derivative must be continuous at boundaries
dψI dψII
At x = 0: ψI = ψII and =
dx dx
dψII dψIII
At x = L: ψII = ψIII and =
V(X)
dx dx

V0

I II III

0 L
 Wave functions

The wavefunctions look very similar to those for the infinite square well...
except the particle has a finite probability of ”leaking out“ of the
well ! Not like classical particles !
 Model systems

The main features are reproduced by tunnelling through a barrier

Incident particles Transmitted particles

Reflected particles II V0 III

I

0 L

Particle arrives with energy E

Classicaly, NONE go through if E < V
 Tunnelling

Left and right of the barrier: free particle

In the barrier, the wavefunction is ”exponentially decreasing“
The Schrödinger equation is solved piecewise
Boundary Conditions are applied to get the wavefunctions.
Dependence on shape
 Dependence on mass

Lighter particles tunnel more effectively

 Negative Kinetic Energy: A paradox
At the root of the paradox is the assumtion that at the same time, we
can know both momentum and position of a particle simultaneously! and
this is a violation of the uncertainty principle. Here we want to know
whether it is possible to determine the position of the particle when it is
moving under the barrier or not. For this we observe that the particle can
be found at a point x where E is less than V but then the momentum,
according to the uncertainty principle, is undertain by an amount of
sqrt(delat p2 ). The mere act of locating a particle at a specific point in
this classically forbidden region will alter the wavefunction and introduce
a large uncertainty into the E which will become greater than V. So the
kinetic energy may be negative, but it is not observable. Measuring the
particle’s position with considerable accuracy in the forbidden region
requires a photon with such short wavelength that the particle acquires
enough energy as a results of measurement, thus making it kinetic energy
positive after measurement. Thus if we know the position of the particle,
then its total energy cannot be E. Corresponds to the delta E delta t UP,
i.e. for a small time the energy conservation does not work.
CH231