V-2-O-5 thin films were produced by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) over a wide temperature range, 30-500degreesC. The effects of temperature and structural characteristics of the substrate on the growth, surface morphology, and local atomic structure of V2O5 films were probed with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy (RS). The growth mode and inicrostructure evolution were strongly dependent on the substrate temperature. The onset of crystallization occurred at 200degreesC with an activation energy of 0.43-0.55 eV. Polycrystalline PLD V2O5 films with layered structure exhibited the same local structural symmetry found in crystalline orthorhombic bulk V2O5. (C) 2004 American Vacuum Society.