The growth of aluminum nitride thin films onto various substrates (glass, flexible polyimide, or silicon) and onto different buffer layers (Au, Nb, Cu, Ag, Co, Fe, NiFe, or IrMn) is reported. Samples grown on IrMn, Co, NiFe, Nb, or Au show smooth surfaces. This same smooth quality is observed in samples grown at a lower 200 C temperature directly on glass, Si, or flexible polyimide. In applications where thin and smooth piezoelectric films are necessary, c-axis-oriented AlN can be grown onto a wide range of different surfaces: conducting, insulating, ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, or flexible. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.