High quality thin films of TbMnO3 were grown by pulsed laser deposition on orthorhombicYAlO(3) (1 0 0). The interface and surface roughness of a 55 nm thick film were probed by X-ray reflectometry and atomic force microscopy, yielding a roughness of 1 nm. X-ray diffraction revealed untwinned films and a small mosaic spread of 0.04 degrees and 0.2 degrees for out-of-plane and in-plane reflections, respectively. This high degree of epitaxy was also confirmed by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. Using polarized neutron diffraction we could identify a magnetic structure with the propagation vector (0 0.27 0), identical to the bulk magnetic structure of TbMnO3. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.