Over the past two years, we have focused considerable effort on understanding the deposition and characterization of conducting barrier layers for the direct integration of ferroelectric capacitors on a poly-Si plug. Our specific focus has been on the materials science of the barrier layers to understand the role of crystallinity and process parameters on the structural and chemical integrity of the barrier layers during the subsequent growth of the ferroelectric capacitor stack. We are using the PZT system with conducting oxide electrodes as a prototypical test system for which at least two different conducting barrier materials systems have been successfully developed. Using both epitaxial and polycrystalline capacitors on these conducting barriers as test vehicles, we have been carrying out systematic studies on the effect of composition, point defect chemistry, strain and other processing variables on the structural integrity and ferroelectric properties. A novel aspect of our work is the use of scanning electric force microscopy techniques to understand the microscopic influence of film microstructure on the ferroelectric properties. In this presentation, we will present results of our progress on the process integration, device properties, specifically, polarization switching and relaxation dynamics and microscopic observations of ferroelectric properties and time dependent changes ; stress effects on fundamental properties.This work is supported by the NSF-MRSEC under Grant No. DMR- 96-32521 and by Bellcore.