A pulsed chemical vapor deposition from metal-organic precursors (MOCVD) system was used to produce solid zirconia, and yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) films. A total of six candidate metal-organic precursors for zirconia and three for yttria were investigated. Three precursor solutions for YSZ proved suitable for pulsed-MOCVD processing. Layers were deposited on metal, alumina, and porous nickel cermet substrates. Under optimal deposition conditions, precursor conversion efficiency of 90% was achieved using a solution of 3.74 vol% zirconium 2-methyl-2-butoxide + 0.42% yttium methoxyethoxide in toluene. The film growth rate was 7.5 mum.h(-1) at 525degreesC deposition temperature. Two alkoxide precursors produced YSZ layers with material costs under $0.50/(mum.cm(2)).