We report a study of the spectrum of scattering resonances in spatially ext
ended open quantum systems. We consider the Schrodinger equation with a pot
ential composed of n copies of a unit cell periodically arranged in a one-d
imensional space and vanishing at large distances. We develop an asymptotic
theory which explains the structure of the resonance spectrum. We also sho
w that, in the limit of a large system, the leading scattering resonances c
onverge to the allowed energy bands of the infinitely extended periodic sys
tem.