Direct growth of relaxed Ge layers on Si(110) substrates with low defect densities was achieved by surfactant-mediated epitaxy (SME) with Sb as a surfactant. Deposition of Ge at a substrate temperature of 670 degrees C resulted in complete relaxation of the lattice mismatch. A residual 0.18% tensile strain was found caused by the thermal mismatch between Ge and Si. No stacking faults were detected in the films. This is ascribed to an abrupt strain release during the initial micro-rough growth phase similar to the one observed in SME on Si(100) and Si(111). (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.