Vertically aligned ZnO nanorods were successfully synthesized on Si substrates at 700 degrees C through the conventional thermal evaporation method using a ZnO template of thin films instead of metal catalysts. The ZnO nanorods on the ZnO film show a high quality, a large-scale production, and a vertical alignment along the [001](zno). The origin of the vertical alignment is ascribed to the preferred orientation of the ZnO template, in which most of the (002) planes are parallel to the ZnO/Si interface. Moreover, the XRD profile shows that the ZnO films play the role of a template layer to fabricate the vertically aligned ZnO nanorods. In addition, this process is cost-effective compared to the thin-film growth system and overcomes the problem of impurity incorporation using metal catalysts. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.