1：Experimental Design and Method Selection:

The study involved growing several CdTe/ZnTe DQDs with various ZnTe separation layer thicknesses on Si (100) substrates using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and atomic layer epitaxy (ALE).

2：Sample Selection and Data Sources:

Elemental Cd, Zn, and Te with purities of

3：9999% were used as the source materials. The Si substrate was chemically etched to remove the oxidation layer. List of Experimental Equipment and Materials:

A Park NX10 atomic force microscopy (AFM) instrument operated in noncontact mode was used for AFM measurements. A PL spectrometer equipped with a 15-cm monochromator, a photomultiplier tube, and an excitation source with a wavelength of 405 nm was used for optical properties confirmation.

4：Experimental Procedures and Operational Workflow:

The substrate temperature was increased to 560 °C for thermal etching. The deposition was initiated by lowering the temperature of the substrate by 300 °C. The Zn and Te sources were opened simultaneously to grow a 900 nm-thick ZnTe buffer layer. The Cd and Te sources were opened alternately to grow the

5：5 monolayer (ML) CdTe QDs. The ZnTe separation layer was subsequently grown with thicknesses increased by 8,15,30, or 60 nm. After the separation layer was grown, a CdTe QD layer was grown with the same thickness as the lower QD layer. Finally, the samples were capped with a 100 nm ZnTe layer. Data Analysis Methods:

The PL spectra were analyzed to record the peak position, full-width at the half-maximum (FWHM), and integrated intensity. The thermal activation energies were investigated using temperature-dependent PL measurements.