Gallium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Ga) films were prepared oil glass substrates by r.f. magnetron sputtering Lit low substrate temperature. Structural, electrical and optical properties of the ZnO:Ga films were investigated in terms of the preparation conditions. The obtained films were polycrystalline with a hexagonal wurtzite structure and preferentially oriented in the (0 0 2) crystallographic direction. The transmittance of the ZnO:Ga films in the visible range was over 85%,,. The lowest resistivity and sheet resistance for the ZnO:Ga films were about 3.9 x 10(-4) Omegacm and 4.6Omega/square, respectively. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.