CaO-stabilised zirconia thin films were deposited by r.f. magnetron sputtering (MS) on (111) Si substrates. The lack of epitaxial relationships between substrate and thin film, together with the competitive growth processes active during the low-temperature deposition, led to a nonhomogeneous microstructure. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) pictures show the presence of two layers whose relative thickness depends on the deposition time: an interface layer made of small, equiaxial grains and a top layer made of larger columnar grains. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pole figures and 0/20-psi maps point out the presence of a fibre texture with two axes, along [111] and tilted similar to 14degrees to the [111] direction, attributed to interface and top layer, respectively. The integrated intensity of the (111) reflection of cubic Ca-stabilised zirconia (CaSZ) as a function of the psi-tilt angle (obtained both from laboratory data and from synchrotron radiation data) was analysed by means of a model based on the different absorption effects of the two layers. Layer thickness values obtained by the modelling are in good agreement with TEM observation and are consistent with the assumed growth mechanism. (C)w 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.