Planar magnetron (PM) power and ICP-RF power dependences of the optical emission intensities of excited atomic and ionic species in the reactive ionized sputter-deposition of magnesium oxide (MgO) thin films were investigated. With the increase in PM power at constant ICP-RF power, Mg I emission intensity increased and Ar I emission intensity gradually decreased. With the increase in ICP-RF power at constant PM power, the Mg I emission intensity increased at lower ICP-RF power and then gradually decreased at higher ICP-RF power; on the contrary, Ar I emission intensity monotonically increased. Emission intensity of atomic oxygen was negligibly small compared with those of Mg I and Ar I under the metallic sputtering mode condition. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.