Low-temperature processing of ferroelectric thin films has remained a major barrier to their practical applications. In this work, RF and microwave oxygen-plasma treatment has been employed for low-temperature processing of ferroelectric thin films of sol-gel-derived Pb(Zr-x,Ti1-x)O-3 (PZT). The as-coated PZT films were annealed in oxygen ambience at 450 degrees C. Subsequent RF oxygen-plasma treatment at 200 and 300 degrees C resulted in fair ferroelectric hystereses. Besides, room-temperature microwave oxygen-plasma treatment gave rise to remanent polarizations as large as 15 mu C/cm(2). (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.