Two deposition techniques, based on the ultrasonic pulverisation of a metal-organic liquid solution, have been developed and tailored for the preparation of optical oxide coatings. Both techniques are low-cost deposition processes, fully compatible with inline technologies for mass production. The ultrasonic pulverisation leads to the formation of an aerosol that is deposited on a substrate surface either by pyrolysis in the vapour phase (Pyrosol process) or by sol-gel transformation of a liquid film deposited at room temperature (Aerosol-gel process). The preparation and properties of thin films deposited using these techniques for applications in integrated active optics are described.