Yttria stabilized zirconia was deposited on stainless steel using the metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique, from beta-diketonate precursors. The variation of the evaporation temperatures of yttrium and zirconium precursor allowed to control the level of Y within the film. Over the temperature range 125-150 degreesC, the Y content increased from 2.5 to 17.6 at.%. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses evidenced tetragonal phase of zirconia when the Y content was below 8 at.%, and cubic phase for higher concentration. Sputtered neutral mass spectrometry (SNMS) profiles confirmed that the control and stability of Y precursor temperature were of major importance to guarantee the homogeneity of the deposited films. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.