It has been shown that glancing angle deposition (GLAD) coupled with a prefabricated seed layer can be used to fabricate periodic microstructures. In this article, we show that the column competition effects inherent within aperiodic GLAD films can be delayed in periodic films due to the tendency of the film to achieve a preferred density at a given flux incidence angle. This technique, coupled with the use of the three-dimensional ballistic simulator, may allow for the design and use of periodic GLAD microstructures in such applications as magnetic pillars and three-dimensional photonic crystals. (C) 2003 American Vacuum Society.