We have studied the effect of depositing a Mg-doped GaN cap layer on near-ultraviolet emitting In 0.05 Ga 0.95 N/Al 0.05 Ga 0.95 N multiple quantum well structures, using photoluminescence spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The room temperature (T = 300 K) photoluminescence spectra revealed a reduction in the integrated photoluminescence intensity of the capped structure, which is shown by time decay measurements to be due to greater competition from non-radiative recombination processes. The structural analysis of the samples using electron microscopy has not shown any evidence of Mg-induced defects. We suggest that the non-radiative recombination path is related to the diffusion of Mg atoms into the quantum well region and the formation of Mg-nitrogen vacancy complexes. 1 Introduction Nitride based quantum well structures emitting in the near-ultraviolet wavelength range are the subject of an increasing amount of interest, due to their potential for use in white light emitting diodes [1,2]. The production of light emitting diodes requires inclusion of the active multiple quantum well region within a p-n junction, the p-type layer normally consisting of an activated Mg-doped GaN layer.In this paper, we present a comparative study of the results of photoluminescence and transmission electron microscopy measurements on In 0.05 Ga 0.95 N/Al 0.05 Ga 0.95 N multiple quantum well structures grown with and without an additional Mg-doped GaN cap layer. We have found that the growth of such a p-type layer can be detrimental to the optical properties of quantum wells emitting with roomtemperature peak wavelengths of around 385 nm. Microstructural investigations have been used to try to identify the source of this deterioration of the optical properties.