The growth of manganese(II) sulfide films by radiofrequency sputtering are shown for the first time. Polycrystalline, nearly stoichiometric films of the metastable hexagonaly-MnS phase were obtained when the substrate temperature was approximately 26degreesC. For higher substrate temperatures, 120 and 180degreesC, the films were amorphous and sulfur deficient. The sulfur loss is substrate-temperature dependant. This behavior is discussed in terms of the dissociation of the MnS molecules during the sputtering process and the phase diagram of sulfur. An analysis of the optical transmission spectrum of the gamma-MnS films allowed us to estimate their index of refraction in the non-absorbing region of the spectrum and the electronic band gap in the high absorbance region, obtaining an E-g value of 3.47 +/- 0.01 eV at room temperature. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.