Preparation of Ga-doped ZnO films by pulsed dc magnetron sputtering with cylindrical rotating target for thin film solar cell applications

► Pulsed dc magnetron sputtering (PDMS) with a cylindrical rotating target was employed for GZO TCO film. ► It exhibits proper electrical and optical properties for front electrodes of TFSC. ► The 750 nm-thick GZO film shows the best electrical and optical properties. ► Texturing of the film yields an improved light trapping without degradation in electrical properties. ► GZO film prepared by PDMS with rotating cylindrical target can be applied to front electrodes of TFSCs.