Controlling the composition of ternary III-V semiconductor nanowires is of high technological importance and the current theoretical understanding is so far limited. We derive a model for the kinetically limited composition of metal-particle-seeded, ternary nanowires. The model is based on the diffusion controlled growth rate of supercritical nuclei. Applying this model to gold-seeded and self-seeded growth of ${\mathrm{In}}_x{\mathrm{Ga}}_{1-x}\mathrm{As}$ we are able to explain the experimentally observed features related to nanowire compositions, including the attainability of compositions within the miscibility gap. By directly comparing with experiments we find that 2% arsenic in the alloy particle during self-seeded growth of InGaAs nanowires is a realistic assumption.

• Received 21 June 2017
• Revised 29 August 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.1.040401