Nucleation-limited composition of ternary III-V nanowires forming from quaternary gold based liquid alloys

We derive an analytic expression for the composition of a ternary solid material nucleating from a quaternary liquid melt. The calculations are based on the two-component nucleation theory with realistic descriptions of the liquid and solid phases. We apply this theory to gold-catalyzed, nucleation limited vapor-liquid-solid growth of ternary III-V nanowires. We consider ternary gallium, indium, and aluminum arsenides and antimonides and discuss growth conditions for optimum composition control in these materials. Furthermore, we compare our calculations with the results of an equilibrium thermodynamic model.