Abstract: Transparent conducting zirconium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Zr) thin films with high transparency, low resistivity and good adhesion were successfully prepared on water-cooled flexible substrates (polyethylene glycol terephthalate, PET) by RF magnetron sputtering. The structural, electrical and optical properties of the films were studied for different thicknesses in detail. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that all the deposited films are polycrystalline with a hexagonal structure and a preferred orientation perpendicular to the substrate. The lowest resistivity achieved is 1.55E-3 Ω·cm for a thickness of 189 nm with a Hall mobility of 17.6 cm2/(V·s) and a carrier concentration of 2.15E20 cm-3. All the films present a high transmittance of above 90% in the wavelength range of the visible spectrum.

Key words: zirconium-doped zinc oxide thin films,  flexible substrates,  magnetron sputtering,  transparent conduct- ing films