Using existing and new results obtained from first-principles pseudopotenti
al calculations, we have studied the atomic relaxation and its dependence o
n the chemical bonding, on III-N(110) surfaces. It is found that the charac
teristics of III-N(110) surfaces differ from other m-V(110) and II-VI(110)
surfaces in two important aspects: a significantly reduced surface bond rot
ation, and a much lower binding energy of the highest occupied surface stat
e. Furthermore the results obtained for AlN and InN corroborate our previou
sly proposed model of a linear relationship between the vertical buckling o
f the top layer and the relaxed surface bond length not only for III-N, but
also for III-V and II-VI semiconductors in general. (C) 2000 Elsevier Scie
nce Ltd. All rights reserved.