Ethylene glycol solutions of La-Mn(II) and La-Ca-Mn(II) citric complexes has been used as a starting material for spray-pyrolysis deposition of LaMnO3 and La1-xCaxMnO3 thin films on beta-quartz, fused quartz, Si(0 0 1) and SrTiO3(1 0 0) substrates heated during the deposition at 380 T. At suitable post-deposition heating conditions highly uniform films, 0.1-1 mu m in thickness, with good crystal structure were obtained. Highly textured LaMnO3 films are obtained on SrTiO3(1 0 0) substrate. Interaction between the layer and Si-containing Substrates is observed during the post-deposition heating in static air. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.