Characteristics of Plasmon Transmittivity Over Potential Barriers

Abstract

In this paper we use the Schrödinger-Poisson model to obtain a linear coupled pseudoforce system from which the wave function and the electrostatic potential of the free electron gas plasmon is deduced. It is shown that unlike for single particle wave function the plasmon wave function and corresponding electrostatic potential are characterized with two different wave numbers associated with two distinct characteristic length scales, namely, that of the single electron oscillation and of the collective Langmuir excitations. Interaction of plasmon with a rectangular potential step/well indicates features common with that of the ordinary single quantum particle. However, the two-tone oscillation character of the wave function and potential appear on the transmitted amplitude over the potential barrier/well. The plasmon propagation is found to have a distinct energy gap corresponding to the plasmon energy value of $ε_g=μ_0+2ε_p$ below which no plasmon excitations occur. For instance, the zero-point plasmon excitation energy for Aluminium, is around $ε_0\simeq 41.7$eV at room temperature, with the Fermi energy of $ε_F\simeq 11.7$eV and plasmon energy of $ε_p\simeq 15$eV. It is seen that for plasmon energies very close to the energy gap, i.e. where the two characteristic scales match ($k_1\simeq k_2$), the quantum beating effect takes place. The study of plasmon tunneling through the potential barrier indicates that the transmittivity has oscillatory behavior similar to that of a quantum particle tunneling through the potentials, but, with a characteristic two-tone oscillatory profiles. Current development can have a broad range of applications in plasmon transport through diverse free electron environments with arbitrary degeneracy and electron temperature. It also makes progress in rapidly growing nanotechnology and plasmonic fields.