  We report on a process that enables the removal of II-VI semiconductor
epilayers from their GaAs growth substrate and their subsequent transfer to
arbitrary host environments. The technique combines mechanical lapping and
layer selective chemical wet etching and is generally applicable to any II-VI
layer stack. We demonstrate the non-invasiveness of the method by transferring
an all-II-VI magnetic resonant tunneling diode. High resolution X-ray
diffraction proves that the crystal integrity of the heterostructure is
preserved. Transport characterization confirms that the functionality of the
device is maintained and even improved, which is ascribed to completely elastic
strain relaxation of the tunnel barrier layer.
