Nanocrystalline ZnO thin films were deposited on glass substrates via the atomic layer deposition (ALD) method at different temperatures ranging from 50 to 200 degrees C. The influences of deposition temperature on the film growth mode, growth rate, optical and mechanical properties of the ZnO films were investigated. At a critical temperature of 100 degrees C, ZnO films exhibited a series of changes. X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV-vis spectra, room temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra and nano-indentation measurement were used to analyze these variations. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.