AbstractHighly (100) and (111) oriented lead zirconium titanate (PZT) thin films have been grown by using reactive rf-sputtering. PZT thin films with rhombohedral composition have been grown in different orientations using selective rapid thermal annealing cycles. The polarization versus electric field curves and the resistivity of the films were measured using a standardized RT66A ferroelectric test system. The dielectric constant and the loss were determined using an impedence analyzer. The PZT(100) oriented films showed larger dielectric constant and loss than the PZT(111) films. The PZT(100) films possessed sharper square-like hysteresis loops compared to the PZT(111) films, as expected from our phenomenological calculations.