A method for forming non-polar (Al,B,In,Ga)N quantum well and heterostructure materials and devices. Non-polar (11{overscore (2)}0) a-plane GaN layers are grown on an r-plane (1{overscore (1)}02) sapphire substrate using MOCVD. These non-polar (11{overscore (2)}0) a-plane GaN layers comprise templates for producing non-polar (Al,B,In,Ga)N quantum well and heterostructure materials and devices.