Ferroelectric layered‐oxides SrBi2Ta2O9thin films were prepared on Pt coated Si wafers and single‐crystal sapphire by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The films were specular and crack‐free and showed complete crystallization at temperatures between 650 and 700 °C. Good ferroelectric properties were obtained for a 200 nm thick film with Pt electrodes: 2PrandEcwere about 8.3 &mgr;C/cm2and 60 kV/cm, respectively. The leakage currents were as low as 8×10−9A/cm2at 150 kV/cm. The films also showed fatigue‐free characteristics: no fatigue was observed up to 1.4×1010switching cycles. These high quality MOCVD films make high‐intensity (≳1 Mbit) nonvolatile memory devices possible. ©1996 American Institute of Physics.