A direct patterning instrument and technique were developed that enabled direct fabrication of ceramic film patterns at room temperature, using laser beam activation of the interface between the substrate and an aqueous solution. It was shown that a crystallized BaTiO3 pattern could be fabricated on a titanium substrate with a laser pattern generator, without heat treatment afterwards. The BaTiO3 pattern had a line width of several tens of micrometers. The technique was also used to demonstrate the possibility of fabricating a TiO2 line, several micrometers wide, on a silicon wafer. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.