Bismuth layer-structured ferroelectrics have been recognised as promising film materials for ferroelectric random access memory application due to their excellent fatigue resistance and other electrical properties. This work deals with the deposition and characterisation of epitaxial and polycrystalline W-doped SrBi2Ta2O9 (SBT) and lanthanide-doped bismuth titanate (BiT) films. SBT and W-doped SBT films were fabricated by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on platinised silicon substrates. The

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... s of fabrication temperature and W-doping level on film properties were studied. The crystallinity of SBTW films improved with increasing fabrication temperatures, resulting in enhanced ferroelectric properties and dielectric properties above the fabrication temperature of 750 ºC. Dense ceramic samples of Nd- and Sm-doped BiT (BNdT and BSmT) were successfully fabricated for PLD targets by solid state processing. Highly epitaxially (001)-, (118)-, and (104)-oriented Nd-doped bismuth titanate (BNdT) films were grown by PLD on (001)-, (011)-, and (111)-oriented SrTiO3 (STO) single crystal substrates, respectively. A three-dimensional orientation relationship between films and substrates was derived as: BNdT(001)//STO(001), BNdT[ 110 ]//STO[100]. Films showed strong dependence of structural and ferroelectric properties on the crystal orientation. PLD-grown BSmT films on platinised silicon substrates were studied as a function of fabrication temperature, effects of Pt bottom layer orientation, Sm doping level, and LaNiO3 buffer layer. An alkoxide-salt chemical solution deposition (CSD) method was adopted to prepare the precursors for BSmT (BNdT) film fabrication. Precursors of Bi-Sm(Nd)-Ti which were stable for at least eight months in air ambient were successfully developed. In-situ FT-IR studies suggest that acetic acid serves as chelating agent to improve the homogeneity of the precursor solution by generating a dense and homogeneous Ti-O-Ti polymeric network. The electrical properties of the films fabricated in this study ( [...]