Pb0.5Sr0.5TiO3 thin films were prepared on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si and LaNiO3 (LNO)/Si substrates by using chemical solution deposition technique, and a layer-by-layer annealing method was used in an attempt to improve the dielectric properties of the thin films. The structure, dielectric, and ferroelectric properties of the thin films were investigated. Improved dielectric properties of the thin films were clearly confirmed: the dielectric constant and dielectric loss for the films on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates annealed at 650 degrees C were 1064 and 0.027, respectively, at 1 kHz, with a dielectric tunability of more than 50%; similarly, the films prepared on LNO/Si substrates, showed a high dielectric constant of 1280 and a low dielectric loss of 0.023, at 1 kHz. P-E hysteresis loop measurements indicated that the remanent polarization and coercive field for the films on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates annealed at 650 degrees C were 15.7 mu C/cm(2) and 51 kV/cm, respectively. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.