Transparent and conducting zirconium-doped zinc oxide films with high transparency and relatively low resistivity have been successfully prepared by rf magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The lowest resistivity achieved was 2.93 x 10(-3) Omega cm for a thickness of 475 nm with a Hall mobility of 13 cm(2) V-1 s(-1) and a carrier concentration of 1.71 x 10(20) cm(-3). The films are polycrystalline with a hexagonal structure and a preferred orientation along the c-axis. All the films present a high transmittance of approximately 90% in the visible range. The optical band gap decreases from 3.42 to 3.27 eV as the thickness increases from 100 to 600 nm. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.