Scattering in abrupt heterostructures using a position dependent mass Hamiltonian

Transmission probabilities of the scattering problem with a position dependent mass are studied. After sketching the basis of the theory, within the context of the Schrödinger equation for spatially varying effective mass, the simplest problem, namely, transmission through a square well potential with a position dependent mass barrier is studied and its novel properties are obtained. The solutions presented here may be advantageous in the design of semiconductor devices. Copyright EDP Sciences/Società Italiana di Fisica/Springer-Verlag 2005