Klein tunnelling

Klein tunnelling

Subject: Science and technology

Context: Researchers have shown in the lab evidence for the nearly century old proposition that relativistic particles can penetrate a barrier with 100% transmission.

Concept:

• Relativistic particle is particles which moves with the speed of speed comparable to the light or kinetic energies are comparable with the product of their masses m and the square of the velocity of light, or mc2 (mc square).
• As long as gravitational effects can be ignored, which is true so long as gravitational potential energy differences are small compared with mc2, the effects of Einstein’s general theory of relativity may be safely ignored.
• Klein tunnelling is based on the Klein paradox which says that if potential is of the order of the electron massor rest mass energy(V ~ mc^2) the barrier becomes nearly transparent (It is unlike the phenomenon of electron barrier when a barrier is met).

Significance of Klein tunnelling:

• Revolutionise electronics industry: Possibility of developing graphene-based field-effect transistors for high-frequency applications
• Significantly boost development in quantum mechanics as well as basic sciences
• Applications in on­-chip logic devices, acoustic signal processing and sound energy harvesting