A new many-body theory of tunneling is proposed in which the time-dependent applied potential, rather than a fictitious static pseudo-Hamiltonian, provides the driving force. The theory is developed for continuous and discrete models and the exact solutions for the electron density and for the current are given at finite temperatures in the case of independent particles. However, the theory lends itself to possible extensions to include interaction effects analogous to previous static approaches. In addition to allowing for the study of transient effects, the time-dependent formulation leads directly to convenient new expressions for the current-voltage characteristics in terms of the asymptotic amplitude and phase of wave functions. The new results appear to be particularly well suited for application to semiconductor junction devices.

• Received 12 March 1980

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.22.5887