Self-heating effects in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) devices limit the applicability of SOI materials in electronics in cases where high power consumption is expected. AlN becomes a promising alternative to SiO2 layer in traditional SOI materials. For the first time, a novel silicon-on-aluminum-nitride (SOAN) structure has been fabricated by the smart-cut process to alleviate the self-heating effects. The AlN films were synthesized on 4" Si(100) substrate by ion-beam-enhanced deposition technique, followed by the smart-cut process. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy micrograph confirms the formation of the SOAN structure. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy image and spreading resistance profile results serve evidence that the top silicon has good crystalline quality and electrical quality similar to the Si substrate. High-resolution X-ray diffraction was employed to study the residual strain in the formed SOAN structure and indicates that the residual lattice strain in the top silicon layer varied from tensile to little compressive after as-received SOI samples annealed at 1100degreesC for an hour. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.