Dislocation removal from a group III-V film grown on a semiconductor substrate is generally described. In one example, an apparatus includes a semiconductor substrate, a buffer film including a group III-V semiconductor material epitaxially coupled to the semiconductor substrate wherein the buffer film includes material melted by laser pulse irradiation and recrystallized to substantially remove dislocations or defects from the buffer film, and a first semiconductor film epitaxially grown on the buffer film wherein a lattice mismatch exists between the semiconductor substrate and the first semiconductor film.