III-N material grown on a silicon substrate includes a single crystal buffer positioned on a silicon substrate. The buffer is substantially crystal lattice matched to the surface of the silicon substrate and includes aluminum oxynitride adjacent the substrate and aluminum nitride adjacent the upper surface. A first layer of III-N material is positioned on the upper surface of the buffer. An inter-layer of aluminum nitride (AlN) is positioned on the first III-N layer and an additional layer of III-N material is positioned on the inter-layer. The inter-layer of aluminum nitride and the additional layer of III-N material are repeated n-times to reduce or engineer strain in a final III-N layer.