(La0.8Sr0.2)(Mn1-yFey)O3 +/-delta films with y=0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8 and 1, a few hundred nanometers thick, were deposited onto polycrystalline yttria-stabilized zirconia YSZ by a magnetron co-sputtering technique using individual targets.of La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 and La0.8Sr0.2FeO3. The deposition parameters, substrate temperature and gas pressure, were studied by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, X-ray diffraction and interferential microscopy for their effects on, the morphological, chemical, topographic and crystallographic properties of films and YSZ-film interfaces., (La0.8Sr0.2)(Mn1-yFe(y))O3 +/-delta thin films were found to be homogeneous, dense and crystallized in the perovskite structure after deposition at 600 degrees C. Profilometry by secondary ion mass spectrometry and observations by Auger electron spectrometry after selective dissolution of the films were also used to investigate both morphology and quality of the YSZ-film interface after deposition. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.