The growth of Al-Mg-B thin films on SiO2/Si(100) substrates was performed by nanosecond pulsed laser deposition at three different substrate temperatures (300 K, 573 K, and 873 K). The as-deposited films were then annealed at 1173 K or 1273 K for 2 h. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD), and atomic force microscope were employed to investigate the effects of processing conditions on the composition, microstructure evolution, and surface morphology of the Al-Mg-B films. The substrate temperatures were found to affect the composition of as-deposited films in that the Mg content decreases and C content increases at higher substrate temperatures, in particular for the 873 K-deposited film. XRD results show that the as-deposited films were amorphous, and this structure may be stable, up to 1173 K. Annealing at 1273 K was found to fully crystallize the room temperature and 573 K-deposited Al-Mg-B films with the formation of the polycrystalline orthorhombic AlMgB14 phase, accompanied by the development of a pronounced (011) preferred orientation. Nevertheless, high C incorporation in the 873 K-deposited Al-Mg-B film inhibits the crystallization and the amorphous structure remains stable even during 1273 K annealing. The presence of Si in the room-temperature-deposited 1273 K-annealed film due to the interdiffusion between the substrate and film leads to the formation of an additional tetragonal alpha-FeSi2 phase, which is thought to cause the surface cracking and microstructural instability observed in this film. (C) 2003 American Vacuum Society.