An insulator layer of a trap-rich silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer is formed on a trapping layer over a high-temperature substrate instead of forming the insulator layer on a bulk silicon substrate. The silicon layer of the trap-rich SOI wafer is formed on a second wafer and is bonded to the insulator layer that was grown on the trapping layer. The second wafer is then removed by grinding, polishing, and/or another technique such that no cutting of the silicon device layer is performed, and therefore little to no surface damage is caused to the silicon layer. Accordingly, a high-temperature annealing operation to remove surface damage that would otherwise be caused by cutting of the silicon layer may be omitted. Thus, operations to form the trap-rich SOI wafer may be performed at lower temperatures, which enables the trapping layer of the trap-rich SOI wafer to be formed to a lesser thickness.