Epitaxial GaAs thin-films grown by metal organic chemical vapour deposition technique have been successfully bonded to Si substrates and lifted-off from the original GaAs substrate using the epitaxial lift-off (ELO) technique. The GaAs thin films transplanted in this manner to Si substrate were examined for its quality by photoluminescence, double-crystal X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering studies. The low FWHM, no peak energy and peak frequency shift were associated with the high crystalline quality of the bonded films. We have obtained a minority-carrier lifetime of 9.09 ns in a double heterostructure bonded to Si, which is nearly three times higher than heteroepitaxial GaAs on Si. The electron transport across the bonded interface was studied by observing the current-voltage characteristic. The electrical behaviour was improved by applying a voltage greater than 10V, necessary for current conduction. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.