In this paper, we compare the properties of ZnO thin films (0020020021) sapphire substrate using diethylzinc (DEZn) as the Zn precursor and deionized water (H 2 O) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) as the O precursors, respectively in the main ZnO layer growth by atmospheric pressure metal–organic chemical vapor deposition (AP-MOCVD) technique. Surface morphology studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that the N 2 O-grown ZnO film had a hexagonal columnar structure with about 802μm grain diameter and the relatively rougher