In this work, we report our results on the synthesis and structural characterization of hafnium oxide thin films prepared by means of pulsed laser deposition. During the deposition, different gas atmospheres (O-2, Ar, Ar/H-2) were used. Electron probe micro analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements show that films deposited in Ar or Ar/H-2 are oxygen deficient, while films deposited in O-2 are stoichiometric. X-ray diffraction data confirm that the as-prepared films are amorphous and form the monoclinic HfO2 phase during annealing. In-situ quick-scanning extended X-ray absorption fine structure measurements carried out at elevated temperatures up to 440 degrees C showed an increase in the Hf-Hf order. From the time-resolved data the crystallization kinetics are extracted and analyzed using the Avrami model. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.