Abstract: Highly transparent and conducting Al–Zr co-doped zinc oxide (ZAZO) thin films were successfully prepared on glass substrate by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The distance between target and substrate was varied from 45 to 70 mm. All the deposited films are polycrystalline with a hexagonal structure and have a preferred orientation along the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate. The crystallinity increases obviously and the electrical resistivity decreases when the distance between target and substrate decreases from 70 to 50 mm. However, as the distance decreases further, the crystallinity decreases and the electrical resistivity increases. When the distance between target and substrate is 50 mm, it is found that the lowest resistivity is 6.9E–4 Ω·cm. All the deposited films show a high average transmittance of above 92% in the visible range.

Key words: Al-Zr co-doped zinc oxide films,  transparent conducting films,  magnetron sputtering,  distance between target and substrate