A layered construction is provided comprising an InP substrate and alternating layers of II-VI and III-V materials. The alternating layers of II-VI and III-V materials are typically lattice-matched or pseudomorphic to the InP substrate. Typically the II-VI material is selected from the group consisting of ZnSe, CdSe, BeSe, MgSe, ZnTe, CdTe, BeTe, MgTe, ZnS, CdS, BeS, MgS and alloys thereof, more typically selected from the group consisting of CdZnSe, CdMgZnSe, BeZnTe, and BeMgZnTe alloys, and is most typically CdxZn1-xSe where x is between 0.44 and 0.54. Typically the III-V material is selected from the group consisting of InAs, AlAs, GaAs, InP, AlP, GaP, InSb, AlSb, GaSb, and alloys thereof, more typically selected from the group consisting of InP, InAlAs, GaInAs, AlInGaAs and GaInAsP alloys, and is most typically InP or InyAl1-yAs where y is between 0.44 and 0.52. In one embodiment, the layered construction forms one or more distributed Bragg reflectors (DBR's). In another aspect, the present invention provides a layered construction comprising: an InP substrate and a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) having a reflectivity of 95% or greater which comprises no more than 15 layer pairs of epitaxial semiconductor materials. In another aspect, the present invention provides a laser comprising a layered construction according to the present invention. In another aspect, the present invention provides a photodetector comprising a layered construction according to the present invention.