Transparent conducting Al-doped ZnO (ZnO:Al, AZO) thin films with good optical and electrical characteristics were prepared by direct current pulse magnetron sputtering. Textured surfaces of AZO films were obtained by etching with NaOH solution successfully and the effect of substrate temperature on the surface texture was investigated. The surface is covered with craters after etching with 5% NaOH solution, and the crater diameter decreases gradually as substrate temperature increases. For AZO film deposited at 270, the crater diameters is 0.5-1 mu m, which is an effective surface texture for light trapping. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.