We report on the epitaxial growth and characterization of InAs/GaSb and InAs/InAsSb type-II superlattices (T2SLs) on GaSb substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. For InAs/GaSb strained T2SLs. interfacial layers were introduced at the superlattice interfaces to compensate the tensile strain and hence to improve the overall material quality of the superlattice structures. The optimal morphology and low strain was achieved via a combined interfacial layer scheme with 1 monolayer (ML) InAsSb + 1 ML InGaSb layers. In contrast, the InAs/InAsSb strain-balanced T2SLs allow for a relatively easy strain management and simple precursor flow switching scheme while maintaining device-quality materials. Surface root mean square roughness of 0.108 nm and a nearly zero net strain were obtained, with effective bandgaps of 147 and 94 meV determined for two sets of InAs/InAsSb strain-balanced T2SLs. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.