Highly (1 0 0)-oriented LaNiO3 (LNO) thin films were grown on Pt(1 1 1)/SiO2/Si substrates by r. f. magnetron sputtering at substrate temperature ranging from 220 degrees C to 320 degrees C, and the preferred orientation of LNO was dominated by the substrate temperature. The oriented LaNiO3 served as a template for the subsequent (1 0 0)-oriented growth of deposited Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 (BST) thin film. Also, the tunability of BST thin film has been greatly improved with the insertion of (1 0 0)-textured LNO buffer layer. (C) 2008 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.