Three types of low-damage radio-frequency (rf) magnetron sputtering processes-an interruptive process, a rotating cylindrical holder method, and an off-axis sputtering method-were designed and studied to reduce the film surface temperature during deposition. Low-damage sputtering processes were investigated to improve the resistivity and optical transmittance in the visible range of Al doped ZnO (AZO) thin films deposited on polymer substrates. In the case of the polyethersulfone substrate, AZO films with a resistivity of 1.0x10(-3) Omega cm and an optical transmittance of 75% were obtained by the rotating repeat holder method during rf sputtering.