Pulsed direct current magnetron sputtered nanocrystalline tin oxide films

► The nanocrystalline SnO2 films were prepared by pulsed direct current magnetron sputtering. ► The crystallinity of the films was progressively improved by the annealing temperature. ► At the annealing temperature of 500 °C, the RMS roughness of the films was 1.1 nm. ► The red shift and improvement of the photoluminescence peaks intensity was found after annealed the films. ► The low electrical resistivity of 0.015 Ω cm with high optical transmittance of 90% were obtained at annealing temperature of 500 °C.