We have studied the influence of alloying induced chemical exchange reactio
ns on the formation of self-assembled InAs dots prepared on InP and In0.52A
l0.48 buffers lattice-matched to InP(001). Atomic force microscopy and low-
temperature photoluminescence measurements have been used to characterize t
he dot properties. Strong differences in the islanding process are observed
depending on the growth conditions and on the nature of the buffer layer.
They are associated to variation in intermixing between the InAs deposit an
d the buffer layer. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.