Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth of InGaAsP/InGaAs multiple step quantum well (MSQW) structure for quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP) applications by using tertiarybutylarsine (TBA) and tertiarybutylphosphine (TBP) in 100% nitrogen (N-2) atmosphere is reported. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement shows the high quality of the quantum well structure grown. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) measurement on the MSQW structure shows an about 11mum absorption peak and indicates this MSQW structure is useful for realization of QWIP. The measured absorption spectrum agrees with the theoretical calculated results. Both crystal property and optical characterization of the MSQW structure grown show the feasibility of MOCVD growth using TBA and TBP in pure N, ambient. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.