Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 (BST) films were deposited on Pt/SiO2/Si substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The deposited films were crystallized by conventional thermal annealing (CTA) and rapid thermal annealing (RTA). The interfacial structures of BST/Pt were studied. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) observation shows that there is a transition layer at BST/Pt interface, and the layer is 4-5 nm thick for CTA and 2-3 nm for RTA. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) investigations show that the layer is composed of perovskited BST phase and non-perovskited BST phase. The content of the non-perovskited BST phase is most for CTA, whereas that of the perovskited BST phase is most for RTA. It is found that the transition layer thickens with the increase of annealing temperature, and CTA corresponds to faster thickening rate. XPS shows that the non-perovskited BST phase does not come from the absorbed CO2 or CO contaminations, but from other interfacial elements. Also, it is indicated that the RTA-annealed BST film capacitor shows much better dielectric properties, with an average value of 150 higher dielectric constant and almost two orders of magnitude lower leakage current density than the CTA-annealed film capacitor. Grazing X-ray diffraction (GXRD) patterns exhibit that the RTA-annealed BST films present more compact structure. It is such a compact structure that can effectively prevent the absorbed elements further diffusing toward two sides, and cause thinner transition layer, thus result in higher dielectric constant and lower leakage current density. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.