The growth of ZnS based phosphor thin films on a Si(100) substrate using pulsed XeCl (308 nm) laser deposition (PLD) for cathodoluminescene (CL) studies was investigated. Ultra high vacuum Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) was utilised to determine the surface composition of the thin films. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements revealed that (100) ZnS films have been preferentially grown on a Si(100) substrate. The Rutherford back scattering (RBS) results show that the growth rate, increased with an increase of the N-2 pressure in the deposition chamber during deposition.