The quality and microstructure of La0.7Ca0.3CoO3 films produced by pulsed reactive crossed-beam laser ablation are analyzed considering composition, crystallographic orientation and morphology. The effects of cooling conditions, deposition with an oxygen background and of an additional N2O gas pulse are studied. The analysis indicates that the best film quality is obtained for films deposited in the presence of the gas pulse and the oxygen background, followed by a fast cooling. The presence of the different oxidizing sources influences the crystallographic orientation of the grown films. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.