UV pulsed laser deposition was employed for the fabrication of amorphous Ga-Ge-Te thin films. The local structure of the bulk glasses as well as corresponding thin films was studied using Raman scattering spectroscopy; the main structural motifs were found to be [GeTe4], eventually [GaTe4] corner-sharing tetrahedra and disordered Te chains. Optical functions of the films (refractive index, extinction coefficient) were characterized by variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry. Photostability experiments showed all Ga-Ge-Te laser deposited films to be stable against 1550 nm laser irradiation in an as-deposited state. In an annealed state, the most photostable composition seems to be Ga10Ge15Te75. This particular composition was further studied from the point of view of thermal stability and stability against ageing in as-deposited state. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.