We investigate surface, structural and optical properties of 1.3 mu m metamorphic InGaAs quantum wells (QWs) on GaAs substrates grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Optimization of structure design and growth parameters is aimed at obtaining smooth surface and high optical quality. The optimized structure has an average surface roughness of 1.6 nm. Photoluminescence intensity at room temperature is stronger than that of high-quality GaInNAs QW-material, and comparable to that of high quality InGaAs QWs and InAs quantum dots at similar wavelengths, while the minimum line width is 32 meV, indicating that the metamorphic InGaAs QWs are very promising for 1.3 mu m laser applications. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.