Buffer layer configurations consisting of magnetron sputtered ZrO2, Zr–Si mixed oxide, and SiO2were investigated for sputter deposition of Bi–Sr–Ca–Cu–O high‐Tcsuperconducting thin films onto silicon wafers. A problem associated with film flaking during postdeposition annealing was overcome by burying the sample in a powder of Bi–Sr–Ca–Cu–O material. Crack growth and buckling in the buffer layers, associated with differential thermal expansions, were eliminated by raising the deposition temperature for the buffer layers. Unfortunately, the improved buffer layers were not good enough to prevent substrate–film interactions over the long annealing times (e.g., 14 h), and the sufficiently high temperature (e.g., 850 °C) needed for the formation of the 2223 highTc(110 K) phase.