This paper addresses the material properties of aluminum doped zinc oxide films prepared on glass by radio frequency and direct current reactive magnetron sputtering. Using adapted deposition parameters for both techniques, the initially smooth films exhibit high transparency and a resistivity of about 3×10-4 Ωcm. After deposition, these films were etched in diluted hydrochloric acid. Depending on the deposition parameters and the etching time, a surface texture with light scattering properties develops during the etching process. For each sputtering technique a separate optimization of the deposition parameters is necessary in order to obtain texturable ZnO:Al films.