The Al-doped ZnO (ZnO:Al) front transparent conducting oxide (TCO) for high efficiency Si thin-film solar cell has been developed using RF magnetron sputtering deposition and chemical wet etching. Microscopic surface roughness of the as-deposited ZnO: Al film estimated by spectroscopic ellipsometry is closely related to the compactness of the TCO film, and shown to be a straightforward and powerful tool to optimize the deposition conditions for the proper post-etched surface morphology. Wet-etching time is adjusted to form the U-shaped craters on the surface of the ZnO: Al film without sharp etch pits that can cause the crack-like defects in the overgrown microcrystalline Si-absorbing layers, and deteriorate the V-oc and FF of the Si thin-film solar cells. That is to say, the nanoroughness control of the as-deposited TCO film with proper chemical etching is the key optimization factor for the efficiency of the solar cell. The a-Si:H/a-SiGe:H/mu c-Si:H triple junction Si thin-film solar cells grown on the optimized ZnO: Al front TCO with anti-reflection coatings show higher than 14% conversion efficiency. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.