High-quality strain relaxed SiGe layer has been fabricated on Si using a thin Ge interlayer grown at 330 degrees C. The properties of SiGe layers with and without the low-temperature Ge interlayer are compared. The results indicate that the Ge interlayer plays an important role in the preparation of SiGe layer. The strain relaxed low-temperature Ge interlayer with coalesced island surface, acting as a stable and compliant template, could remove the cross-hatch misfit dislocation lines on surface and promote the strain relaxation in the SiGe layer homogeneously. (C) 2010 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.