Epitaxially grown ZnO thin film on 6H-SiC(0 0 0 1) substrate was prepared by using a spin coating-pyrolysis with a zinc naphthenate precursor. As-deposited film was pyrolyzed at 500 degrees C for 10 min in air and finally annealed at 800 degrees C for 30 min in air. In-plane alignment of the film was investigated by X-ray pole-figure analysis. Field emission-scanning electron microscope, scanning probe microscope, and He-Cd laser (325 nm) was used to analyze the surface morphology, the surface roughness and photoluminescence of the films. In the photoluminescence spectra, nearband-edge emission with a broad deep-level emission was observed. The position of the near-band-edge peak was around 3.27 eV. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.