Efficient method for calculating electronic bound states in arbitrary one-dimensional quantum wells

In the present paper it is demonstrated that the bound electronic states of multiple quantum wells structures may be calculated very efficiently by expanding their eigenstates in terms of the eigenfunctions of a particle in a box. The bound states of single and multiple symmetric or nonsymmetric wells are calculated within the single-band effective mass approximation. A comparison is then made between the results obtained for simple cases with exact calculations. We also apply our approach to a GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well structure composed of forty periods each one with seven quantum wells. The method may be very useful to design narrow band quantum cascade photodetectors to work without applied bias in a photovoltaic mode. With the presented method the effects of a electric field may also be easily included which is very important if one desires study quantum well structures for application to the development of quantum cascade lasers. The advantages of the method are also presented.