Abstract: A method of reducing an inter-atomic bond strength in a substance includes the steps of: providing a target material (110, 910, 1210, 1260, 1410, 1460); exposing the target material to a particle flood (140); and annealing the target material while exposing the target material to the particle flood. As an example, the target material can be a collection of non-activated dopant atoms within a semiconducting material. As another example, the target material can be a semiconducting material in an amorphous form. In a different embodiment of the invention an electrically conducting material (950, 1250, 1270, 1450, 1470, 1480) is used as an electron source rather than a particle flood, and an electrically conducting diffusion barrier (940) is placed between the electrically conducting material and the target material.

Abstract: A method for damage avoidance in transferring a monocrystalline, thin layer from a first substrate onto a second substrate involves epitaxial growth of a sandwich structure with a strained epitaxial layer buried below a monocrystalline thin layer, and lift-off and transfer of the monocrystalline thin layer with the cleaving controlled to happen within the buried strained layer in conjunction with the introduction of hydrogen.