Layer transfer of epitaxial layers and thin films obtained by van der waals growth initiation

A thin film grown on a substrate to which the attractive forces are of lower strength than covalent, metallic and/or ionic bonds can be detached from the substrate without the need of a Smart-cut type of process, e.g. without the need of ion implantation. We propose to make use of these weak bonds to ease the transfer of the thin film to another foreign substrate. This can be performed in two alternative ways: a) by bonding it either directly to the selected foreign substrate and then peeling off from the original growth substrate; b) by bonding it to a polymer layer that eases the peeling of the thin film from the growth substrate; the thin film is then bonded to a foreign substrate and the polymer detached or selectively etched away.