Films deposited by evaporation at glancing angles form structures dependent on the speed of substrate rotation. If the substrate is held stationary, oblique columns are. grown. For slow substrate, rotation, helices are formed while faster rotation yields pillars. Silicon and silicon dioxide films grown under similar conditions, were found to follow the typical morphological trend. In contrast, aluminum films formed by glancing angle deposition (GLAD) were found to be facetted structures which were peaked and isolated at high rotation speeds' (dpsi/dt > 42 rpm), and flat for dpsi/dt similar to1.5 rpm. The results suggest that the primary limiting factor. controlling GLAD microstructure growth may be a combination of both material temperature and crystal structure of the resulting film. (C) 2003 American Vacuum Society.