MBE growth conditions, SEM and XRD structural characterization and experimental studies of optical properties are presented for Pb1-xEuxTe/CdTe semiconductor heterostructures grown on GaAs (0 0 1) substrate with a thick CdTe buffer layer. Photoluminescence excited by pulsed YAG:Nd laser was studied in the mid-infrared spectral region for 12.5 nm-thick Pb1-xEuxTe quantum wells (x=0-0.038) with 75 nm-thick CdTe barriers. Increasing the Eu content up to about 4 at% permitted large infrared photoluminescence tuning from 0.34 to 0.465 eV due to the increase in Pb1-xEuxTe bandgap. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.