Optimization of parameters for deposition of Ga-doped ZnO films by DC reactive magnetron sputtering using Taguchi method

► ZnO:Ga thin films are prepared by DC reactive magnetron sputtering. ► The Taguchi method is applied to find the optimal growth conditions. ► ZnO:Ga films have acceptable structural, electrical, and optical properties. Ga-doped ZnO (ZnO:Ga) transparent conductive films were deposited on glass substrates by DC reactive magnetron sputtering. Taguchi method was used to find the optimal deposition parameters including oxygen partial pressure, argon partial pressure, substrate temperature, and sputtering power. By employing the analysis of variance, we found that the oxygen and argon partial pressures were the most influencing parameters on the electrical properties of ZnO:Ga films. Under the optimized deposition conditions, the ZnO:Ga films showed acceptable crystal quality, lowest electrical resistivity of 2.61 × 10 −4 Ω cm, and high transmittance of 90% in the visible region.