Tunneling time of electrons through a potential barrier

We investigate the problem of the average time spent by a tunneling electron in the classically forbidden region. We propose a natural method of generalizing the classical transit time concept to the quantum mechanical case and apply it to the problem of tunneling through a one-dimensional potential barrier. Considering the transmitted and reflected particles separately yields complex parameters which represent the tunneling times of reflected and transmitted particles. We investigate the connection of these parameters to the angles of rotation of electron spins in a magnetic field localized in the barrier region.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 3, pp. 26–29, March, 1987.