Beschreibung:
<jats:p>The confinement properties of an electron to a two-dimensional quantum disk surrounded with a finite-height potential barrier are investigated. It is shown that since the confining barrier is distorted by a centrifugal potential arising from nonzero electron angular momentum, the electron can tunnel out through a thin part of the distorted barrier, which takes place when the radius of the disk is smaller than a critical radius. It is found that since the barrier for zero electron angular momentum is deformed by a centripetal potential characteristic of two dimensions, although no electron leaks out at any radii, bound-energy levels ascend as the disk radius decreases and become tied up at the top of the confining potential well, resulting in high density of states. Some experimental methods are outlined to observe those leaky and confining phenomena.</jats:p>