A new strained InGaAs/InP/InAsP antisymmetric coupled‐quantum‐well (CQW) structure with significant enhancement of the blue and red Stark effects in the first heavy‐hole‐to‐electron excitonic transition is proposed in this letter. The calculated amount of blueshift is about 48 meV as the applied electric field varied from 0 to 90 kV/cm and the red Stark shift of about 56 meV can be achieved with an applied electric field in the 0 to −90 kV/cm range. The results of the strong Stark effect in the antisymmetric CQW structure may have potential applications in sophisticated new electronic devices, such as optical switching devices and tunable lasers. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.