Laser-assisted metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) was used to grow crystalline zinc sulfide at temperatures as low as 200\sp∘C. The metalorganic sources, dimethylzinc and diethylsulfide, were photodissociated with radiation from a 193 nm ArF excimer laser passing parallel to the substrate. Epitaxial films were grown on gallium arsenide by both the thermal and laser-assisted MOCVD methods. Zinc sulfide films grown on silicon substrates were polycrystalline possibly due to a reaction between sulfur and the silicon substrate creating an amorphous compound at the interface. X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence results indicate that films grown by laser-assisted MOCVD below 500\sp∘C on either substrate were not as high quality as those grown above 500\sp∘C. It is postulated that increased hydrocarbon contamination in the low temperature laser-assisted MOCVD grown films is responsible for the decrease in film quality.