Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films were deposited on a polycrystalline (poly) 3C-SiC buffer layer using RF magnetron sputtering and a sol-gel method. The post-deposition annealing was performed on ZnO thin films prepared using both methods. The formation of ZnO piezoelectric thin films with less residual stress was due to a close lattice mismatch of the ZnO and SiC layers as obtained by the sputtering method. Nanocrystalline, porous ZnO film prepared using the sol-gel method showed strong ultraviolet UV emission at a wavelength of 380 nm. The 3C-SiC buffer layer improved the optical and piezoelectric properties of the ZnO film produced by the two deposition methods. Moreover, the different structures of the ZnO films on the 3C-SiC intermediate layer caused by the different deposition techniques were also considered and discussed. (C) 2010 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.