Niobium oxide (NbO(x)) films were deposited by pulsed dc magnetron sputtering at different total gas pressures and oxygen flow rates. Various film properties were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry and four point probe. It was found that oxygen flow rates required for preparing NbO, NbO(2) and Nb(2)O(5) at a constant total pressure of 0.93 Pa were approximately 2, 4 and >6 sccm, respectively. The results showed that the film properties, specifically composition can be significantly changed by the total gas pressure and the oxygen flow rate. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.