We have prepared thin La0.5Ca0.5MnO3 manganite films by pulsed laser deposition, on (1 0 0) SrTiO3, (1 0 0) LaAlO3, (1 0 0) Si and CeO2/YSZ-buffered (1 0 0) Si substrates. Structural and transport characterisation was performed on the films. The films grown on STO and LAO were, as expected, epitaxial and present remarkable structural distortions due to biaxial strain, while the film grown on buffered-Si was also epitaxial but less structurally distorted. The film deposited on Si was polycrystalline. Texture analysis revealed the cube-on-cube orientation of all the layers, except the one deposited directly on Si. The multilayer system LCMO/CeO2/YSZ/Si show an insulator to metal transition around 130-150 K and display a large magnetoresistance, although that transition is absent in the films grown on LAO and STO. The transport properties of the multilayer system make it very promising for technological application. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.