Circular dislocation loop in a three-layer nanowire

•The misfit strain in a three-layer nanostructure is analyzed.•The formation of a dislocation loop in the layer interfaces is studied.•A stability diagram for the structure is provided versus misfit strains.

The formation of a prismatic dislocation loop in the two interfaces of a three-layer nanowire has been theoretical studied from a static energy variation calculation, when the three layers are submitted to misfit strains. Depending on the misfits and different radii of the layers, the possibility of formation of the dislocation loop at the different layer interfaces has been characterized and a stability diagram is provided for the structure. The effect of the external radius of the nanowire is also investigated.