ABSTRACTIntroduction of a buffer layer to facilitate heteroepitaxy in thin films of the Group IIIA nitrides has had a tremendous impact on growth morphology and electrical transport. While AIN- and self-seeded growth of GaN has captured the majority of attention, the use of AIN-buffered substrates for InN thin films has also had considerable success. Herein, the properties of InN thin films grown by reactive magnetron sputtering on AIN-buffered (00.1) sapphire and (111) silicon are presented and, in particular, the evolution of the structural and electrical transport properties as a function of buffer layer sputter time (corresponding to thicknesses from ∼50Å to ∼0.64 μm) described. Pertinent results include: (a) for the InN overlayer, structural coherence and homogeneous strain normal to the (00.1) growth plane are highly dependent on the thickness of the AIN-buffer layer; (b) the homogeneous strain in the AIN-buffer layer is virtually nonexistent from a thickness of 200Å (where a significant X-ray intensity for (00.2)AIN is observed); and (c) the n-type electrical mobility for films on AIN-nucleated (00.1) sapphire is independent of AIN-buffer layer thickness, owing to divergent variations in carrier concentration and film resistivity. These effects are in the main interpreted as arising from a competition between the lattice mismatch of the InN overlayer with the substrate and with the AIN-buffer layer.