Tungsten trioxide and titanium dioxide thin films were synthesised by pulsed laser deposition. We used for irradiations of oxide targets an UV KrF* (gimel = 248 nm, tau(FWHM) congruent to 20 ns, v = 2 Hz) excimer laser source, at 2 j/cm(2) incident fluence value. The experiments were performed in low oxygen pressure. The (001) SiO2 substrates were heated during the thin film deposition process at temperature values within the 300-500 degrees C range. The structure and crystalline status of the obtained oxide thin films were investigated by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. Our analyses show that the films are composed by nanoparticles with average diameters from a few to a few tens of nm. Moreover, the films deposited at substrate temperatures higher than 300 degrees C are crystalline. The tungsten trioxide films consist of a mixture of triclinic and monoclinic phases, while the titanium dioxide films structure corresponds to the tetragonal anatase phase. The oxide films average transmittance in the visible-infrared spectral range is higher than 80%, which makes them suitable for sensor applications. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.