We have established a combustion chemical vapour deposition (C-CVD) system for the deposition of zinc oxide (ZnO) at atmospheric pressure. This C-CVD process has the advantage of a short exposure of the substrates to the flame. It is also potentially applicable as an inline coating system. Fundamental studies were performed on undoped ZnO. The specific resistivity of these layers strongly depends on the film thickness and decreases with increasing thickness. As the lowest resistivities, values of about 2.0.10(-1) Omega cm are achieved. Ultra-violet photoemission spectra show the valence band structure of the deposited ZnO. The work function and valence band edge were determined. UV-vis spectra were taken to investigate the transmission of the coated glass samples. From these spectra the band gap energy was obtained. Raman spectroscopy as well as infrared spectroscopy confirmed the presence of ordered ZnO crystallites. The X-ray diffraction verified this result and illustrates the hexagonal structure. In the mid-infrared range precursor deposits were detected for low substrate temperatures. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.