The authors have developed a large-area pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) technique, suited in particular for depositing high-k dielectric and ferroelectric thin films of high quality on Si wafers of 8 in. diameter. By using this technique, 42- and 6-nm-thick HfO2 films were deposited on 8 and 6 in. Si wafers at room temperature, respectively. The standard deviations of thickness were 1.3% and 1.6% of their respective means. Cross-sectional transmission-electron microscopy pictures of the 6-nm-thick HfO2 film on Si showed that an interfacial layer between HfO2 and Si was thinner than 1 nm. In order to measure the electrical properties, Pt top electrodes were deposited on the HfO2 film and the Al bottom electrode was deposited on the Si. Capacitance-voltage measurements of the Pt/HfO2/Si showed that the standard deviation of capacitances was as small as 1.9%. A ferroelectric SrBi2Ta2O9 (SBT) film was also deposited on a 4 in. Si wafer at 400 degrees C using the large-area PLD technique. The standard deviation of the SBT film thickness was 1.2% of 94 nm, the average thickness. The large-area PLD technique the authors developed can meet the industrial needs for high and uniform quality over large-area high-k dielectric and/or ferroelectric thin films for large-scale integrated circuits. (c) 2007 American Vacuum Society.