Textured thin films ZnO has been successfully grown by rf magnetron sputter
ing method using a special technique of introducing a small amount of water
and methanol on the deposition chamber. The grain size of the textured sur
face is highly dependent on the argon pressure during the deposition. The p
ressure in this experiment was varied from 50 mTorr down to 5 mTorr and the
highest grain size of the film is obtained at 5 mTorr. The total transmitt
ane of the films are more than 85 % in the wavelength of 400 to 1300 nm, an
d haze ratio of about 14 % is obtained at 400 nm wavelength. Beside the tex
tured surface, these films also have very low resistivity, which is lower t
han 1.4x10(-3) Ohm.cm. X-ray analysis shows that the films with textured su
rface have four diffraction peaks on the direction of (110), (002), (101) a
nd (112), while the non-textured films have only (110) and (002) peaks. Due
to the excellent characteristics of this film, it will make the film very
good TCO alternatives for the thin film silicon solar cells.