Oxide thick films, partially yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and titania (TiO2), were prepared by laser chemical vapor deposition (LCVD). The assistance of laser tremendously increased the deposition rate for YSZ and TiO2 films up to 660 and 2500 mu m/h, respectively. The increase in the deposition rate was accompanied by plasma formation around the deposition zone, and the plasma was observed over critical values of laser power and substrate pre-heating temperature. A wide variety of morphologies of films from feather-like columnar to dense microstructures were obtained depending on deposition conditions. The columnar structure contained a large amount of nano-pores at columnar boundary and inside grains. These columnar structure and nano-pores were advantageous for applying YSZ films to thermal barrier coatings. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.