AlN epitaxial films were grown on Si(111)substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD).The surface morphology,crystalline quality,and interfacial property of as-grown AlN films have been investigated systematically, and the effect of hydrogen atmosphere on the properties of AlN films were studied in detail.The results reveal that the root-mean-square (RMS)roughness of ~110 nm-thick AlN films is greatly reduced from 4.0 nm to 2.1 nm,and the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM)value of X-ray rocking curve of AlN (10-12 )is dramatically decreased from 1.1 °to 0.9 °by introducing a certain amount of hydrogen when compared with that grown without hydrogen.