Bismuth films have been deposited in vacuum on BaF2(1 1 1) substrates by a pulsed Nd:YAG laser (lambda = 532 nm). The morphology and crystallographic orientation of the Bi layers have been investigated by scanning electron microscopy and Xray diffraction, respectively, as a function of different parameters: (i) the deposition temperature (75-260 degreesC) (ii) the location of the substrate with regard to the center of the ablation plume: (iii) an annealing treatment. The rnicrostructure is found to strongly depend on these deposition parameters. Thus, by simply changing the experimental conditions, it is possible to achieve highly textured films of a given orientation. This is crucial for optimal applications of bismuth films, as the physical properties of bismuth are anisotropic. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.