Effect of elastic stresses on the formation of axial heterojunctions in ternary A$^{\mathrm{III}}$B$^{\mathrm{V}}$ nanowires

The effect of elastic stresses on the formation of axial heterojunctions in ternary A$^{\mathrm{III}}$B$^{\mathrm{V}}$ nanowires has been studied theoretically. The composition profile of the axial InAs/GaAs heterojunction in self-catalytic Ga$_{x}$In$_{1-x}$As nanowires have been obtained. The InAs/GaAs heterojunction width is shown to be several dozen of monolayers and it increases with an increase in the nanowire radius due to elastic stresses. The el-astic stress relaxation on the lateral surfaces of the nanowires at typical growth temperature (about 450$^\circ$C) and a nanowire radius higher than 5 nm does not lead to the formation of an miscibility gap in the Ga$_{x}$In$_{1-x}$As system.