Techniques for fabricating metal devices, such as vertical light-emitting diode (VLED) devices, power devices, laser diodes, and vertical cavity surface emitting laser devices, are provided. Devices produced accordingly may benefit from greater yields and enhanced performance over conventional metal devices, such as higher brightness of the light-emitting diode and increased thermal conductivity. Moreover, the invention discloses techniques in the fabrication arts that are applicable to GaN-based electronic devices in cases where there is a high heat dissipation rate of the metal devices that have an original non- (or low) thermally conductive and/or non- (or low) electrically conductive carrier substrate that has been removed.