Correlation between microstructure and salt-water durability of Ag thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering

► Ag and ZnO/Ag thin films were deposited by magnetron sputtering. ► Salt-water durability was improved by nitrogen addition during Ag deposition. ► Visible light reflectance exhibited almost same values despite nitrogen addition. ► From structural analysis, durability improvement was attributed to small crystallite. ► ZnO under layers also had a good effect on salt-water durability of Ag thin films.