Abstract: Transparent conducting Zr-doped ZnO(ZnO:Zr) thin films with high transparency and low resistivity were successfully prepared on ZnO-buffered polyethylene glycol terephthalate (PET) by DC magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The effects of the thickness on the structural, electrical and optical properties of the films were studied in detail. The experimental results reveal that all the deposited films are polycrystalline with a hexagonal structure. The lowest resistivity achieved is 2.4×10-3 Ω·cm for a thickness of 151 nm with a Hall mobility of 18.9 cm2·V-1·s-1 and a carrier concentration of 2.3×1020 cm-3 . All the films present a high transmittance of above 92; in the wavelength range of the visible spectrum.

Key words: Transparent conducting Zr-doped ZnO(ZnO:Zr) thin films with high transparency and low resistivity were successfully prepared on ZnO-buffered polyethylene glycol terephthalate (PET) by DC magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The effects of the thickness on the structural, electrical and optical properties of the films were studied in detail. The experimental results reveal that all the deposited films are polycrystalline with a hexagonal structure. The lowest resistivity achieved is 2.4×10-3 Ω·cm for a thickness of 151 nm with a Hall mobility of 18.9 cm2·V-1·s-1 and a carrier concentration of 2.3×1020 cm-3 . All the films present a high transmittance of above 92; in the wavelength range of the visible spectrum.