This paper reports a novel method to grow a wurtzite GaN on Si(111) by using a single-crystalline 3c-SiC interlayer. The interlayer is formed by the carbon (C+)-ion implantation into Si(111) wafers. The C+-ion implantation is ;performed at 600degreesC at an accelerating voltage of 180 kV. After the implantation wafers are annealed in O-2 atmosphere at 1250 C for 2 h. Auger analysis reveals the presence of SiC at a depth of 0.3-0.5 mum from the surface. Upper layers of SiO2, Si and polycrystalline SiC on the single-crystalline 3c-SiC are successively removed and the single-crystalline SiC layer is successfully exposed on the surface. Organometallic vapor phase epitaxial (OMVPE) growth of GaN layer is made at 1000degreesC on the 3c-SiC/Si(111) template with a low-temperature (550degreesC) GaN buffer. The grown layer is confirmed to be single-crystalline wurtzite GaN by the RHEED pattern. The layer shows an intense excitonic emission with a peak energy of 3.416 eV at room temperature. The PL peak position and Raman shift show that the GaN layer has a small tensile stress of about 0.6 Gpa, which is a half of the value reported for a film grown on Si with an AIN buffer. This is supported by the fact that no cracks are found on the GaN surface. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.