We report on photoluminescence (PL) and photoluminescence-excitation measurements in GaAs/In0.1Ga0.9As/AlAs double-barrier tunneling structures as a function of bias voltage and temperature. We have observed a splitting in the quantum well photoluminescence due to island formation in the quantum well. We have a good correlation between the variation of integrated PL intensity, linewidth, and tunnel current bias for both lines. The temperature dependence of photoluminescence spectra shows that transfer of carrier between islands can be tuned by the applied bias and that states in different islands are populated by electrons in the resonant tunneling process. © 1997 American Institute of Physics.