We present our recent investigations on the self-organized growth and
optical properties of quantum structures including CdSe quantum dots (
QDs), embedded in ZnSe, ZnSe QDs in ZnS, and ZnO quantum pyramids. The
self-organized mechanism is shown to play an important role in the fo
rmation of CdSe QDs on ZnSe(111). The ZnSe QDs are found to form on a
1 ML thick ZnSe wetting layer embedded in ZnS(100). The self-organized
ZnO quantum pyramids form on ZnO(0001) buffer layers through preferre
d facet nucleation rather than strain-induced islanding.