ZnO thin films were prepared with ZnO multi-buffer layers by a magnetron sputtering system. ZnO thin films with monobuffer layer and without buffer layer were also prepared. The films were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), dynamic force microscope (DFM) and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UVVis). The ZnO films with buffer layers showed the improvement in crystalline quality and the release of lattice strain, while the film without buffer layer showed the shift of peak position in XRD spectra. The improvement in the surface smoothness of the film with multi-buffer layer was observed by FE-SEM and DFM. UV-Vis analysis showed that all samples exhibited more than 70% transmittance in the visible region. The steepest fall-off near band edge was found in the transmittance spectrum of the film with multi-buffer layer

Keywords: ZnO, Buffer layer, Magnetron sputtering