Quantum wells of GaSb were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs substrates. The buffer layer and barrier layers consisted of relaxed AlAsxSb1-x. The composition of the AIAs(x)Sb(1-x) was varied to produce compressive biaxial strains in the GaSb. The confinement and strain in the GaSb quantum wells lift the degeneracy in the valence band, resulting in lower in-plane effective mass and higher mobility. A threefold enhancement of mobility was achieved, with room-temperature mobilities as high as 1350 cm(2)/Vs and 77K values as high as 10,400 cm(2)/V s for strains near 1%. These quantum wells should be suitable for high-performance p-channel field-effect transistors for complementary circuits operating at extremely low power. Published by Elsevier B.V.