Large-area SnO2: F thin films by offline APCVD

► Large-area (1245 mm × 635 mm) FTO thin films were successfully deposited by offline APCVD process. ► The as-prepared FTO thin films with sheet resistance 8-11 Ω/□ and direct transmittance more than 83% exhibited better than that of the online ones. ► The maximum quantum efficiency of the solar cells based on offline FTO substrate was 0.750 at wavelength 540 nm. ► The power of the solar modules using the offline FTO as glass substrates was 51.639 W, higher than that of the modules based on the online ones.