We report on the growth of semipolar (11 (2) over bar2) AlGaN in the entire composition range on (10 (1) over bar0) sapphire by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy. Growth rates increase linearly with the metal-organic supply and have been realized up to 2.5 mu m/h. The Al content determined by photoluminescence and transmission measurements depends linearly on the Al/Al + Ga ratio in the gas phase. The growth rate and the Al incorporation are higher for (11 (2) over bar2)AlGaN than for (0001) AlGaN. This is attributed to different adatom mobility and desorption. The in-plane relationship of (11 (2) over bar2) AlGaN is [(1) over bar 100](AlGaN)parallel to [1 (2) over bar 10](sap) and [(1) over bar(1) over bar 23](AlGaN)parallel to [0001](sap), as typical for semipolar nitrides on m-plane sapphire. For Al contents up to 60% triangle-like structures dominate the surface. For Al contents above 70% it transforms into an undulation along [(1) over bar 100] and additional dot-like structures. The smoothest surface morphologies with a rms roughnesses of 2 nm were achieved for Al mole fractions of similar to 50%. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.