Abstract: A method is described for transferring a thin film of arbitrarily large area from an original substrate to an alternate substrate. An etch stop layer is provided below an epitaxial layer, for example, grown on a semiconductor substrate. In a single transfer process, the epitaxial layer is bonded to a rigid host substrate having desirable thermal, electromagnetic, and/or mechanical properties. The original growth substrate is then removed from the transferred epitaxial layer using the etch stop layer. In a double transfer process, the epitaxial layer is first bonded to a rigid and porous temporary substrate using a thermally or chemically releasable resin, for example. The original growth substrate is removed using the etch stop layer so that the original substrate side of the epitaxial layer can be bonded to a rigid host substrate, as described above. The temporary substrate is then removed using the releasable resin to leave the transferred thin film attached to the host substrate.