The influence of oxygen pressure on the structural and electrical properties of vanadium oxide thin films deposited on glass substrates by pulsed laser deposition, via a 5-nm thick ZnO buffer, was investigated. For the purposes of comparison. VO2 thin films were also deposited on c-cut sapphire and glass substrates. During laser ablation of the V metal target, the oxygen pressure was varied between 1.33 and 6.67 Pa at 500 degrees C, and the interaction and reaction of the VO2 and the ZnO buffer were studied. X-ray diffraction studies showed that the VO2 thin film deposited on a c-axis oriented ZnO buffer layer under 1.33 Pa oxygen had (020) preferential orientation. However, VO2 thin films deposited under 5.33 and 6.67 Pa were randomly oriented and showed (011) peaks. Crystalline orientation controlled VO2 thin films were prepared without such expensive single crystal substrates as c-cut sapphire. The metal-insulator transition properties of the VO2/ZnO/glass samples were investigated in terms of electrical conductivity and infrared reflectance with varying temperatures, and the surface composition was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.