Laser Liftoff of GaAs Thin Films

The high cost of single crystal III-V substrates limits the use of GaAs and related sphalerite III-V materials in many applications, especially photovoltaics. Separating epitaxially-grown layers from a growth substrate can reduce costs, however the current approach, which uses an acid to laterally etch an epitaxial sacrificial layer, is slow and can damage other device layers. Here, we demonstrate a new approach that is orders of magnitude faster, and that enables more freedom in the selection of other device layers. We show damage-free removal of an epitaxial single crystal GaAs film from its GaAs growth substrate using a laser that is absorbed by a smaller-band-gap, pseudomorphic layer grown between the substrate and the GaAs film. The liftoff process transfers the GaAs film to a flexible polymer substrate, and the transferred GaAs layer is indistinguishable in structural quality from its growth substrate.