We report on the influence of growth temperature on the Sb surfactant-mediated growth of strained InGaAs multiple-quantum wells by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy and propose an effective method for obtaining the surfactant effect at low growth temperatures. When reducing the growth temperature from 620 to 540 degrees C, the Sb supply, which is needed to improve the surface morphology and the photoluminescence intensity, decreases to one tenth because of the surface segregation of the Sb atoms. With the help of Sb segregation, the surfactant effect at a growth temperature of 540 degrees C is obtained simply by supplying Sb prior to well growth. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.