Lead based ferroelectric thin films have been grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on Si, MgO and Sapphire substrates starting from sintered targets of Pb(Mg1/3Nb1/3)O-3-PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) and (Pb1-xLax)(Zr0.65T0.33)O-3 (PLZT) with variable PT and La contents, respectively A parametric study has been performed to investigate the influence of the laser wavelength (266, 355, 532 and 1064 nm), laser fluence (2-25 J/cm(2)), oxygen pressure (0.2-0.8 mbar), substrate temperature (400-650 degreesC) on the composition and crystallinity, and on dielectric, ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties. Dielectric measurements were done over a wide frequency and temperature range. The dielectric permittivity and loss were investigated for films obtained with different deposition parameters and diffuse-like features were identified in small-grain size microstructured films. The polarization-electric field dependence has been measured at different frequency and temperature conditions. Piezoelectric local probing has been performed and the dependence of longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient on microstructure and texture was obtained. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.