Self-assembled semiconductor quantum dots are high quality nano-crystalline structures which allow on to confine charged carriers in three dimensions on a length scale of their de-Broglie wavelength. As a result they show a discrete energy spectrum which can be tailored during the epitaxial growth of these nanostructures. We are interested in the growth and optical properties of III-V quantum dots which are optimized for quantum optical studies in solid state and for the realization of deterministic and scalable quantum devices.