Self-limiting growth of zinc oxide was accomplished over a temperature range from 25 to 155 degrees C by pulsed plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition using dimethyl zinc [Zn(CH3)(2)] as the metal precursor. The deposition rate was independent of plasma exposure (1-5 s) but was found to increase from 1.4 to 6.0 A degrees/cycle as a function of temperature. Over the narrow range explored, substrate temperature had a dramatic impact on the film structure and properties. Amorphous films were obtained at room temperature, while a polycrystalline morphology with a preferred (100) orientation developed as the temperature increased. The electrical resistivity decreased linearly with temperature from 45 to similar to 2 cm. Spectroscopic characterization showed that films deposited at room temperature were contaminated by carbon and hydroxyl impurities; however, these defects were attenuated with temperature and were not detected in films deposited above 64 degrees C. Room temperature photoluminescence was dominated by defect emission in most films; however, this signal was attenuated, and a strong band edge emission was observed for films deposited at temperatures >135 degrees C. Film quality was comparable to material grown by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition in the same reactor; however, precursor requirements and net deposition rates were improved by an order of magnitude.