Films of alloy ZA27 were produced using electron deposition technique. Structural evolution and phase decomposition of the films were studied. It was found that the alloy films were relatively stable because of a strong preferred crystal orientation of the nano-phases. The dependence of nano-phase stability on the Zn content and the preferred crystal orientation is discussed from point of view of Gibbs free energy. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.