Patent ID: 6958093

Claim:
A method of forming a free-standing (Al, Ga, In)N article, by the steps comprising: providing an expitaxially compatible sacrificial template; depositing single crystal (Al, Ga, In)N material on the template at a deposition temperature above ambient temperature to form a composite sacrificial template/(Al, Ga, In)N article including an interface between the sacrificial template and the (Al, Ga, In)N material; and parting the sacrificial template from the (Al, Ga, In)N material by at least one process selected from: (i) before cooling of said composite tcmplate/(Al, Ga, In)N article to ambient temperature, interfacially modifying the composite sacrificial template/(Al, Ga, In)N article at an elevated temperature that is within 500° C. of said deposition temperature; and (ii) providing localized energy at the interface between the sacrificial template and the (Al, Ga, In)N material to interfacially modifying the composite sacrificial template/(Al, Ga, In)N article, while maintaining the composite sacrificial template/(Al, Ga, In)N article at an elevated temperature that is within 500° C. of said deposition temperature.