Epitaxial thin films of PbZr_xTi_(1−x)O₃ (PZT) with 0≤x≤0.6 have been deposited in situ by pulsed laser deposition from stoichiometric targets onto 〈100〉 oriented single crystals of MgO and SrTiO₃. Film composition was extremely sensitive to the substrate temperature and the oxygen deposition pressure. In a high (200–300 mTorr) oxygen ambient, phase‐pure 〈100〉 oriented PZT films (x=0.54) were formed at a substrate temperature of 550 °C on SrTiO₃. On MgO, competition between formation of the ferroelectric phase and a nonferroelectric (pyrochlore) phase was observed for compositions near the morphotropic phase boundary (x∼0.54). Polycrystalline PZT films which were 70%–90% PZT were also deposited on Pt coated Si and GaAs under similar conditions.

The magnetic and structural properties of pulsed laser deposited MnZn–ferrite films have been examined. The results show that the uniaxial anisotropy, ferromagnetic resonance linewidth and coercive force are strongly influenced by the microstructure of the films, and the saturation magnetization and first-order magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant depend on intrinsic properties such as composition and cation site occupation. A comparison of bulk and film magnetic properties shows that the magnetic properties of the films are comparable to the bulk, which makes pulsed laser deposition ferrite films a prime candidate for thin film high-frequency microwave device applications.

Measurement of the relative dielectric constant of a Sr_0.5Ba_0.5TiO₃ (SBT) thin film is presented as a function of electric field strength and temperature over a broad frequency range using a microstrip transmission line. The transmission line was fabricated from a trilayer structure where the SBT film, grown by pulsed laser deposition, was bounded by silver and platinum metallization layers. Such structures involving ferroelectric films could be useful for microwave applications because of the substantially smaller bias voltages (≊1–10 V) compared to those required for bulk material. The SBT film was found to exhibit a dielectric constant of ≊120–250 and a large electric field modulation of ≊50% at 200 kV/cm. These properties of the material as well as the Curie temperature are compared to those of bulk SBT.