MODIFIED AIRY FUNCTION-METHOD FOR THE ANALYSIS OF TUNNELING PROBLEMS IN OPTICAL WAVE-GUIDES AND QUANTUM-WELL STRUCTURES

We present a simple method for the analysis of tunneling through an arbitrary one-dimensional potential barrier, based on the modified Airy function approach. We have considered truncated step-linear, step-exponential, parabolic, and quartic potential barriers. The results have been compared with those obtained by the conventional WKBJ, modified WKBJ, and the matrix method. The effect of the truncation level on the tunneling coefficient has also been investigated. The tunneling coefficient is sensitive to the truncation level. For the step-linear potential, the tunneling coefficient is a monotonically decreasing function of the truncation level, while for the parabolic potential, it oscillates before saturating to a constant value.