A new approach of chemical bath deposition (CBD) of SnO2 thin films is reported. Films with a 0.2 mu m thickness are obtained using the multi-dip deposition approach with a deposition time as little as 8-10 min for each dip. The possibility of fabricating a transparent conducting oxide layer of Cd2SnO4 thin films using CBD is investigated through successive layer deposition of CBD-SnO2 and CBD-CdO films, followed by annealing at different temperatures. High quality films with transmittance exceeding 80% in the visible region are obtained. Annealed CBD-SnO2 films are orthorhombic, highly stoichiometric, strongly adhesive, and transparent with an optical band gap of similar to 4.42 eV.Cd2SnO4 films with a band gap as high as 3.08 eV; a carrier density as high as 1.7 x10(20) cm(-3); and a resistivity as low as 1.01 x 10(-2) Omega cm are achieved. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.