Growth of silver on ZnO and SnO2 thin films intended for low emissivity applications

► SnO2 and ZnO thin films were grown by reactive magnetron sputtering. ► The films reveal slight differences in the microstructure and optical properties. ► Different growth mechanisms for the films were proven by dynamic scaling analysis. ► XPS peak shape analysis showed that silver spreads better on ZnO than on SnO2. ► Better silver wetting of ZnO enhances the performance of low emissivity coatings.