MgZnO films with different Mg contents were synthesized on c-plane sapphire by metal organic chemical vapor deposition, using diethyl zinc (DEZn) and bis(cyclopentadienyl) magnesium (Cp(2)Mg) as Zn and Mg precursors, respectively. Tertiary butanol (t-BuOH) was used as a weak oxidant in order to enhance the accuracy of Mg incorporation when varying DEZn/Cp(2)Mg flow rates. As a result the Mg contents in the range of 1-9% were confirmed by time-of-flight elastic recoil detection analysis, which is known to be specifically sensitive to detect light elements. Thus, independently and accurately determined composition in the samples was correlated with structural and optical properties as measured by x-ray diffraction and photoluminescence. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.