In this paper, we report the fabrication of both epitaxial and amorphous thin self-supported layers and the integration of these layers with epitaxial films/micro-structures and devices. Thin and ultra-thin self-supported layers were formed by layer growth and then dry reactive ion etching and wet chemical etching. The detailed etching process was investigated and optimized. In order to integrate the self-supported thin layers with the delicate devices, which are incompatible with the etching process, a feasible approach has been developed. Thin and ultra-thin self-supported layers up to several millimeters in size were fabricated and these thin self-supported layers have been characterized. We demonstrate that the integrated structures with self-supported epitaxial layers enable high-resolution imaging of the epitaxial films/micro-structures and the self-supported amorphous layers have been used successfully to fabricate temperature sensor devices. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.