ZnO nanorod (NR) arrays were grown on Si at elevated temperatures using a two-stage diffusive pulsed laser deposition (DPLD) technique. A thin (similar to 50 nm) seed-layer was first formed by pulsed laser ablation of ZnO in O-2. The sample was then turned to face away from the propagation direction of the ablation plume, and the ablation process continued. A dense array of ultrathin NRs was seen to grow from the seed-layer. These NRs are thinner (d similar to 10 nm), and display a similar to 20-times higher aspect ratio than those grown by traditional PLD under otherwise identical process conditions. (C) 2009 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.