Cobalt oxide thin films were deposited by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition at low pressure using dicarbonyl cyclopentadienyl cobalt (CoCp(CO)(2)) and oxygen as reactant gas. Depending on substrate temperature and oxygen partial pressure, thin films consist of metallic cobalt, cobalt (II) oxide (CoO) or cobalt (II,III) oxide (Co3O4). The films show excellent conformality on three dimensional surface structures. Films were characterized using photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron spectroscopy. XPS analysis was performed in-situ after the deposition process, allowing insights into the decomposition process of the precursor. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.