The design of a new radiative heater for the growth of oxide thin films is presented. A blackbody cavity approach has been used to eliminate the large temperature variations usually observed during the growth of highTc(HTC) superconducting thin films. Results show that this simple and inexpensive design enables one to work without the need forin situmonitoring and constant adjustment of the substrate temperature. The performance of the new heater is demonstrated by the growth of excellent quality HTC thin films. ©1998 American Institute of Physics.