Nanocrystalline condensates were deposited on the NaCl (1 0 0) plane at 25-450 degrees C by radio frequency ion beam sputtering from a pure 99.9% Zr disk. The nanocondensates were identified by transmission electron microscopy to be quasi-amorphous alpha-Zr, alpha-Zr + ZrO and alpha-Zr + ZrO + c-ZrO2 phase assemblages with increasing substrate temperature. At 400 degrees C and under 1-20 sccm oxygen, c- and t-ZrO2 nanocondensates were assembled on NaCl (100) and showed strong preferred orientation. The c- and/or t-ZrO2 were retained by small grain size, low-valence Zr cation and 2D matrix constraint of the film. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.