Zinc oxide thin films have been grown on (100)-oriented silicon substrate at a temperature of 100 degreesC by reactive e-beam evaporation. Structural, electrical and optical characteristics have been compared before and after annealing in air by measurements of X-ray diffraction, real and imaginary parts of the dielectric coefficient, refractive index and electrical resistivity. X-ray diffraction measurements have shown that ZnO films are highly c-axis-oriented with a full width at half maximum (FWMH) lower than 0.5degrees. The electrical resistivity increases from 10(-2) Omega cm to reach a value about 10(9) Omega cm after annealing at 750 degreesC. The FWHM decreases after annealing treatment, which proves the crystal quality improvement. Ellipsometer measurements show the improvement of the refractive index and the real dielectric coefficient after annealing treatment at 750 degreesC of the ZnO films evaporated by electron beam. Atomic force microscopy shows that the surfaces of the electron beam evaporated ZnO are relatively smooth. Finally, a comparative study on structural and optical properties of the electron beam evaporated ZnO and the rf magnetron deposited one is discussed. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.