High-performance reactive sputter-deposition of magnesium oxide (MgO) thin films is investigated. In this research, planar magnetron (PM) sputtering of Mg target in argon/oxygen mixture is assisted by an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) that is located between the target and the substrate and is driven by an internal RF coil antenna at 13.56 MHz. The changes in deposition rates and X-ray diffraction patterns due to the independent power control of PM and ICP are investigated. As a result, we found that deposition rate of MgO films was predominantly controlled by the PM discharge power and that the crystallinity of deposited MgO films was controlled by the ICP-RF power. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.