Zinc oxide (ZnO) quantum dots (QDs) were fabricated on silicon substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Formation of QDs is due to the vigorous reaction of the precursors when a large amount of precursors was introduced during the growth. The size of the QDs ranged from 3 to 12nm, which was estimated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The photolurninescence measured at 80 K showed that the emission of QDs embedded film ranged from 3.0 to 3.6 eV. The broad near-band-edge emission was due to the quantum confinement effect of the QDs. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.