In order to obtain oriented nanostructured materials for nanoelectronic/microelectronic device applications via a simple method, a study on the preparation of oriented ZnO was carried out. The experimental results indicated that large-scale-oriented ZnO rod arrays on glass substrates via an in situ deposition approach can be obtained. The I-V examination of the oriented ZnO rod arrays film showed that the photocurrent increased of about two orders of magnitude after white light exposure. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.