A property design concept involving the substitution of each crystal site in the pseudoperovskite in Bi4Ti3O12 structure, a site-engineered concept, is proposed for Bi4Ti3O12-based thin films. This concept is based on the selective substitution of each crystal site contributing to the ferroelectric properties. By using this concept, a novel material, i.e. (Bi,Nd)(4)(Ti,V)(3)O-12 as developed. A remnant polarization (Pr) value above 16 muC cm(2) at a process temperature of 540degreesC was obtained together with orientation control of the films. This Pr value is comparable to that of the widely used Pb-based ferroelectrics, such as Pb(Zr,Ti)O-3. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.