Lanthanum bismuth titanate (Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12) (BLT) thin films on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates were prepared by sol-gel using ethylacetoacetate (EAA) as a replacement for the highly toxic 2-methoxyethanol. EAA is used as a modifier to stabilize the metal alkoxide. At 450 degrees C films are amorphous. After annealing at 650 degrees C films are crystalline and present good dielectric and ferroelectric properties. A 0.4 mu m thick BLT film exhibits 2P(r) of similar to 21 mu C/cm(2) and 2E(c) of similar to 195 kV/cm at 300 kV/cm. The dielectric constant and dielectric losses of these BLT films at 1 kHz are 140 and 0.025, respectively. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.