Epitaxial Nd‐doped yttrium aluminum garnet (NdxY3−xAl5O12or Nd:YAG) films have been grown on various substrates by pulsed laser deposition for the purpose of fabricating diode‐pumped waveguide lasers. The films were characterized by Rutherford backscattering, x‐ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and photoluminescence measurements. Nd:YAG films on (100) silicon substrate with a large lattice mismatch show oriented stoichiometric growth. On the other hand, Nd:YAG films on garnet substrates (NdundopedGd3Ga5O12,Y3Al5O12and Zr‐, Sc‐doped Gd3Ga5O12) show epitaxial growth with smooth surfaces. The optical properties of Nd‐doped YAG thin films on various substrates were comparable to those of Nd:YAG bulk laser crystal. ©1996 American Institute of Physics.