We characterize sputter-deposited aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) thin films on glass and silicon substrates by variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry in the spectral range of 240 nm to 1700 nm. The model dielectric function includes the excitonic effects of direct band-gap semiconductors in the presence of high carrier densities as well as the scattering of free carriers by ionized donors. We show that an energy-dependent broadening term of the band-gap model avoids an extended absorption tail below the absorption threshold as it usually results from Lorentzian broadening. Uniaxial anisotropy takes account of the oriented growth of hexagonal crystalline ZnO:Al thin films. All the parameters derived from the optical measurements such as surface roughness, free-carrier concentration and mobility agree with the results of independent thin-film characterization methods such as atomic-force microscopy. Hall and four-point probe measurements. In the case of the glass samples, we need an additional interface layer which is confirmed by transmission-electron microscopy as an intermix layer of ZnO and glass. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.