Transparent zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films with a thickness from 10 to 200 nm were prepared by the PLD technique onto silicon and Coming glass substrates at 350 degrees C, using an Excimer Laser XeCl (308 nm). Surface investigations carried out by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed a strong influence of thickness on film surface topography. Film roughness (RMS), grain shape and dimensions correlate with film thickness. For the 200 nm thick film, the RMS shows a maximum (13.9 nm) due to the presence of hexagonal shaped nanorods on the surface. XRD measurements proved that the films grown by PLD are c-axis textured. It was demonstrated that the gas sensing characteristics of ZnO films area strongly influenced and may be enhanced significantly by the control of film deposition parameters and surface characteristics, i.e. thickness and RMS, grain shape and dimension. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.