The influence of the morphology on the light emission properties of vacuum-deposited polycrystalline oligo(p-phenylene vinylene) thin films under intense laser excitation was studied. The morphology of the thin films was varied by annealing just below the first melting point (crystal-mesophase transition) and by crystallization from the isotropic melt. Amplified spontaneous emission occurred within the individual domains and was only observed when the domain size was increased by thermal treatment. The amplified spontaneous emission threshold for the melt-crystallized thin films was found to be comparable to that for conjugated polymer thin films. ©1998 American Institute of Physics.