This work presents a study of the epitaxial growth of Ge on Si (111) using a Gd2O3 crystalline template. A smooth two-dimensional Ge layers is obtained from the coalescence of initially three-dimensional Ge islands grown in the Volmer-Weber mode. Ge takes its bulk lattice parameter at the very early stages of its growth. A detailed x-ray pole figure analysis reveals that the epitaxial relationship between the layers and the Si substrate is [1-10]Ge(111)parallel to[-110]Gd2O3(111)parallel to[1-10]Si(111) and that microtwins are formed in the Ge layer. (C) 2010 American Vacuum Society [DOI: 10.1116/1.3478301]