A method of fabricating a rare earth oxide buffered III-N on silicon wafer including providing a crystalline silicon substrate, depositing a rare earth oxide structure on the silicon substrate including one or more layers of single crystal rare earth oxide, and depositing a layer of single crystal III-N material on the rare earth oxide structure so as to form an interface between the rare earth oxide structure and the layer of single crystal III-N material. The layer of single crystal III-N material produces a tensile stress at the interface and the rare earth oxide structure has a compressive stress at the interface dependent upon a thickness of the rare earth oxide structure. The rare earth oxide structure is grown with a thickness sufficient to provide a compressive stress offsetting at least a portion of the tensile stress at the interface to substantially reduce bowing in the wafer.