Abstract
Perfect quantum wire structures are attractive candidates for low threshold lasers and high speed electronic devices because of the nature of the density of states and eigenfunctions. In this letter, we discuss the effect of structural disorder on the density of states as well as on the localization length of these eigenstates. We find that significant changes in the density of states and eigenfunctions occur with a small random disorder along the wire axis. Consequences for devices based on quantum wires are discussed.