  Properties of complex oxide thin films can be tuned over a range of values as
a function of mismatch, composition, orientation, and structure. Here, we
report a strategy for growing structured epitaxial thermoelectric thin films
leading to improved Seebeck coefficient. Instead of using single-crystal
sapphire substrates to support epitaxial growth, Ca$_3$Co$_4$O$_9$ films are
deposited, using the Pulsed Laser Deposition technique, onto Al$_2$O$_3$
polycrystalline substrates textured by Spark Plasma Sintering. The structural
quality of the 2000 \AA thin film was investigated by Transmission Electron
Microscopy, while the crystallographic orientation of the grains and the
epitaxial relationships were determined by Electron Back Scatter Diffraction.
The use of a polycrystalline ceramic template leads to structured films that
are in good local epitaxial registry. The Seebeck coefficient is about 170
$\mu$V/K at 300 K, a typical value of misfit material with low carrier density.
This high-throughput process, called combinatorial substrate epitaxy, appears
to facilitate the rational tuning of functional oxide films, opening a route to
the epitaxial synthesis of high quality complex oxides.
