ABSTRACTTransmission electron microscopy of GaAs grown on Si for metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors is presented in this paper. Two kinds of samples are compared: GaAs grown on a 15 Å Si epilayer grown on GaAs, and GaAs grown at low temperature (300°C) on Si substrates. It is shown that the GaAs epitaxial layer grown on thin Si layer has reverse polarity to the substrate (antiphase relation). Higher defect density is observed for GaAs grown on Si substrate. This higher defect density correlates with an increased device speed, but with reduced sensitivity.