The effects of annealing on the optical and the electronics properties of ZnO thin films grown on p-Si(1 0 0) substrates by using radio frequency magnetron sputtering were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photoluminescence (PL), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. The XRD patterns and pole figures showed that the crystallinity of the ZnO films grown on p-Si(1 0 0) substrates was improved by thermal treatment. XRD patterns, pole figures, and TEM images showed that the as-grown and the annealed ZnO films grown on Si(1 0 0) substrates had a c-axis preferential orientation in the [0 0 0 1] crystal direction. The PL spectra showed that luminescence peaks related to the free excitons and the deep levels appeared after annealing. The XPS spectra showed that the peak positions corresponding to the O 1s and the Zn 2p shifted slightly after thermal treatment. These results can help improve understanding of thermal effects on the optical and the electronic properties of ZnO thin films grown on p-Si(1 0 0) substrates. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.