Lead germanate silicate (Pb5Ge2.85Si0.15O11) ferroelectric thin films were successfully fabricated on Pt/Ti/SiO2/(100)Si substrates by the 501 gel process. The thin films were fabricated by multi-coating at preheating temperatures of 350 and 450 degrees C. After annealing the thin films at 600 degrees C, the films exhibited c-axis preferred orientation. The degree of c-axis preferred orientation of the thin films preheated at 350 degrees C was higher than that of films preheated at 450 degrees C. Grain growth was influenced by the annealing time. The thin films exhibited a well-saturated ferroelectric P-E hysteresis loop when preheated at 350 degrees C and annealed at 600 degrees C for 1.5 h. The values of the remanent polarization (Pr) and the coercive field (Ec) were approximately 2.11 mu C/cm(2) and 100 kV/cm, respectively. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.