Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2011
An overview of the current understanding of the structural and chemical nature of interfaces involving an alloy layer, as revealed in photoluminescence and excitation spectra, is presented. Systematic studies, including reflection-highenergy- electron-diffraction measurements and computer simulations, reveal in-plane fluctuations in the alloy composition arising from the growth kinetics to be the dominant feature controlling the nature of the confining potentials in high quality samples grown without growth interruption. The role of surface kinetics in relaxing dynamic growth fronts to structurally smoother surfaces upon growth interruption is summarized and its pragmatic consequences for improving interface quality discussed.