In this paper, we report the formation of stable icosahedral Al-Cu-Fe quasicrystalline thin films by thermal vapor deposition techniques (indirect heating and e-beam heating) from a single source. Deposition of these films by a single-source indirect heating method, in the stable icosahedral phase, is reported for the first time. A direct comparison between the two different heating methods has been made. The final compositions of the prepared films with desired properties were found to be Al62.9Cu24.6Fe12.5 (indirect heating method) and Al63.1Cu24.5Fe12.4 (e-beam method), respectively. The resistivities of the films prepared by both methods were ∼2000 μΩ cm at room temperature and ∼ 4000 μΩ cm at 10 K. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rigts reserved.