A continuous and highly biaxially textured CdTe film was grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition on an amorphous substrate using biaxial CaF2 nanorods as a buffer layer. The interface between the CdTe film and CaF2 nanorods and the morphology of the CdTe film were studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy. Both the TEM and X-ray pole figure analysis clearly reveal that the crystalline orientation of the continuous CdTe film followed the {111}< 121 > biaxial texture of the CaF2 nanorods. A high density of twin faults was observed in the CdTe film. Furthermore, the near surface texture of the CdTe thin film was investigated by reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and RHEED surface pole figure analysis. Twinning was also observed from the RHEED surface pole figure analysis. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.