The use of aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) for the formation of zinc oxide and doped ZnO films with control of preferred orientation on glass is reported. Undoped and doped ZnO host matrix films were highly transparent with visible transmission > 85%. The Cu (CuO/Cu2O) doped ZnO thin films were highly coloured and opaque. Undoped and noble metal doped ZnO films had mainly spherical morphology. Aluminium oxide/ZnO composite films had a range of morphologies from spherical to cubic. The XRD patterns for both doped and undoped ZnO films grown at substrate temperatures less than 500 degrees C showed strong preferred (0 0 2) crystal lattice orientation. The undoped ZnO film at 500 degrees C exhibited a random crystal orientation pattern for hexagonal ZnO. The introduction of small amounts of Al2O3 within the ZnO to form a composite significantly altered the preferred crystal orientation to (1 0 1). (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.