Cu(II) complexes with Schiff bases derived from ethylenediamine (en) and 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde (pyca), 2,5-dimethoxybenzaldehyde (dmbaH) or 4-imidazolecarboxaldehyde (4Him) were obtained and studied by elemental analysis, UV-VIS and IR spectra. Zinc oxide was synthesized using a simple homogeneous precipitation method with zinc acetate as a starting material. Thin layers of the studied Cu(II) complexes were deposited on Si(111) or ZnO/Si(111) substrates by a spin coating method and characterized with a scanningelectron microscopy (SEM/EDS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and fluorescence spectroscopy. For Cu(II) layers the most intensive fluorescence bands due to intra-ligand transitions were observed between 462 and 503 nm. The fluorescence intensity of thin layers was corelated to the rotation speed. In the case of the

[Cu(II)(en(4Him)₂)Cl₂](2a)/ZnO/Si and [Cu(en(dmbaH)₂)Cl₂](3a)/ZnO/Si layers the quenching of the emission band from ZnO at 440 nm (λ_ex = 330 nm) associated with various intrinsic or extrinsic lattice defects was noted.