Quasi-bound states determination using a perturbed wavenumbers method in a large quantum box

A perturbed wavenumbers method (PWM) is presented that is capable of determining the quasi-bound-state eigenenergies and their lifetimes for quantum heterostructures having arbitrary potential profiles. The numerical method presented solves the single-band effective-mass Schrodinger equation without using complex energies. It is applicable to quantum structures that are symmetric, asymmetric, unbiased, or biased. For multiple quantum heterostructures, extensive comparisons of this numerical method with other currently used techniques are included. In addition, a modified density of states formulation is presented and applied to these example cases.