Abstract:The intersubband optical absorption coefficients and the refractive index change depending on the intense laser field (ILF); both are calculated in a square quantum well (SQW) and a graded quantum well (GQW). Our results show that the position and the magnitude of the linear, nonlinear and total absorption coefficients and refractive index changes depend on the laser field parameter and the quantum well (QW) shape. By increasing the ILF value, we can obtain a red shift or a blue shift in the intersubband optical transitions as dependent on the shape of the QW. For the SQW, the intersubband absorption spectrum shows a blue shift up to the critical laser field value. This spectrum shows a red shift for ILF values larger than this certain value. For the GQW, the intersubband absorption spectrum shows a red shift by increasing the ILF. Thus the absorption coefficients and the refractive index changes, which can be suitable for great performance optical modulators and multiple infrared optical device applications, can be easily obtained by tuning the ILF value and the QW shape.