Free-standing GaN films prepared with hydride vapor-phase epitaxy (HVPE) technique usually show bowing resulting from the high densities of defects near the N-polar face after separation from the original substrates. To solve the problem, a simple technique has been developed. A GaN layer was regrown on the N-polar face of the free-standing GaN by HVPE. High-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) measurements were performed to compare the bowings among GaN films before laser lift-off (LLO), after LLO, and after regrowth. The apparent reductions of XRD full-width at half-maximum (FWHM), along with the increase of XRD peak intensity, after regrowth clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of this method to eliminate bowings of the free-standing GaN films. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.