Praseodymium and niobium-substituted bismuth titanate ( Bi3.96Pr0.04Ti2.95Nb0.05O12, BPTNO) thin films were deposited on Pt(111)/TilSiO(2)/Si(100) substrates by a sol-gel technology. The effects of annealing temperature (300- 800 degrees C) on microstructure and electric properties of thin films were investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the BPTNO thin films have a bismuth-layered perovskite structure with preferred (117) orientation. The intensities of (117) peak increases with increasing annealing temperature. With the increase of annealing temperature from 500 degrees C 10 800 degrees C, the grain size of BPTNO thin films increases. The highly (117)-oriented BPTNO thin films exhibits a high remnant polarization (2P(r)) of 48 mu C/cm(2) and a low coercive field (2E(c)) of 110 kV, cm(2) fatigue free characteristics up to >10(8) switching cycles. A small leakage current density U) was 623 x 10(-8) Ncrrt2 at 200 kV/cm. The leakage current mechanisms were controlled by Poole-Frenkel emission in the low electric field region and by Schottky emission in the high field region. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved,