Ferroelectric 0.4Pb(Yb1/2Nb1/2)O-3-0.6PbTiO(3) (PYNT) thin film was prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si(100) substrates by multi-target rf magnetron sputtering deposition at substrate temperature of 550 degreesC. The YbNbO4 oxide target was used as Yb and Nb sources. The effect of composition and substrate was investigated by X-ray diffraction analysis. Although the formation of perovskite phase mainly depends on the Pb sputtering power, the processing window is very narrow on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate. The substrates with the thick Pt electrodes tend to reduce the perovskite phase. Meanwhile, the TiO2 buffer layer deposited on the Pt surface is observed to enhance the formation of the perovskite phase. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.