NOVELTY - Forming at least one relaxed epitaxial aluminum-indium-gallium-nitride (I) layer, comprises: providing a substrate having a semipolar surface orientation within 5 degrees of a c-plane; and forming at least one epitaxial (I) layer having a thickness of at least 100 nm formed overlying at least a portion of the semipolar surface orientation so that many misfit dislocations are included in at least one portion of the thickness to reduce a bi-axial strain in the thickness towards a relaxed state.    USE - The method is useful for forming at least one relaxed epitaxial aluminum-indium-gallium-nitride layer which is useful for fabricating the devices comprising a LED, a laser diode, a photodetector, an avalanche photodiode, a transistor, a rectifier, a thyristor, a Schottky rectifier, a p-i-n diode, a metal-semiconductor-metal diode, high-electron mobility transistor, a metal semiconductor field effect transistor, a metal oxide field effect transistor, a power metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor, a power metal insulator semiconductor field effect transistor, a bipolar junction transistor, a metal insulator field effect transistor, a hetero-junction bipolar transistor, a power insulated gate bipolar transistor, a power vertical junction field effect transistor, a cascode switch, an inner sub-band emitter, a quantum well infrared photodetector, a quantum dot infrared photodetector, a solar cell, or a diode for photoelectrochemical water splitting and hydrogen generation (all claimed).    ADVANTAGE - The method: utilizes indium-gallium-nitride substrates which allow the development of a new class of III-nitride visible-spectrum devices that will have superior performance throughout the visible spectrum and allows the realization of maximum efficiencies for systems employing these in applications e.g. illumination and displays; and forms many dislocations to reduce a bi-axial strain towards a relaxed state.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - Forming at least one relaxed epitaxial aluminum-indium-gallium-nitride of formula (AlxInyGa(1-x-y)N) (I) layer, comprises: providing a substrate having a semipolar surface orientation within 5 degrees of a c-plane; and forming at least one epitaxial (I) layer having a thickness of at least 100 nm formed overlying at least a portion of the semipolar surface orientation so that many misfit dislocations are included in at least one portion of the thickness to reduce a bi-axial strain in the thickness towards a relaxed state.    Either x, y = 0-1; or    x+y = 0-1.    An INDEPENDENT CLAIM is also included for a device comprising: a semi-polar bulk gallium nitride substrate having a surface orientation within 1 degrees of one of (43-71), (32-51), (21-31), (31-42), (41-53), (81-98) and (30-34); at least one active layer comprising (I), where the active layer has a relaxed state, a thickness of 1-100 nm and a concentration of threading dislocations of less than 108 cm-2.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The figure illustrates formation of an epitaxial layer on a patterned substrate.    Patterned substrate or patterned epitaxial layer (801)    Epitaxial layer (803)