Self-assembled CdTe quantum dots made on ZnTe buffer have been obtained in special growth conditions: the dot-like islands form themselves in a metastable zone which Occurs just before the onset of the plastic relaxation transition. This was evidenced by comparing the in situ in-plane relaxation and structural data for two growth processes, the conventional molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), and the atomic layer epitaxy (ALE). These results demonstrate the importance of the kinetic effect on the formation of CdTe nanostructures. The kinetics during growth, studied here by comparing MBE and ALE processes, not only delays the onset of the plastic relaxation by revealing an intermediate zone where the islands can be formed, but also allows some interdiffusion between the cations Cd and Te to occur, as evidenced by studying the optical and structural properties of these dot-like islands. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.