We have investigated optical properties of ZnTe epilayers, Zn1-xMgxSeyTe1-y epilayers, and ZnTe/Zn1-xMgxSeyTe1-y quantum wells (QWs) grown on (100)-InAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. We observed several sharp photoluminescence lines close to the excitonic position and no detectable luminescence from deep levels in ZnTe epilayers. Bright luminescence has been obtained from Zn1-xMgxSeyTe1-y epilayers which are lattice matched with InAs. The band alignment of ZnTe/Zn1-xMgxTe QWs was found to be type I. The reduction of the band gap energy of the ZnTe layer due to a tensile strain was confirmed in this structure. Nearly lattice-matched ZnTe/Zn1-xMgxSeyTe1-y QWs have been fabricated. A type II band alignment was observed for many of these QWs. We estimated bowing parameters not only of the band gap but also of the valence band for ZnSeyTe1-y. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.