**8. Acknowledgements**

The work in this chapter would not have been possible without the support of numerous people and I would like to acknowledge a few of them here. Firstly, the author would like to thank Dr. Romain Brenot for his guidance and advices.

Next I would like to thank fellow workers at III-V lab, especially Francis Poingt and Marco Lamponi who worked closely with me. This collaboration was key to the success of this study. Additionally, I wish to acknowledge Dr. Philippe Chanclou for the fruitful discussions.
