Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) ceramics with 0−2·5 wt.% alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) content were prepared using a solid-state reaction technique. It was found that AZO grains became finer in size and more irregular in shape than undoped ZnO as the Al 2 O 3 content increased. Addition of Al 2 O 3 dopant caused the formation of phase transformation stacking faults in ZnO grains. The second phase, ZnAl 2 O 4 spinel, was observed at the grain boundaries and triple junctions, and inside the grains. In this study, a 3-inch circular Al 2 O 3 (2 wt.%)-doped ZnO ceramic target sintered at 1500 • C for 6 h has a relative density of 99·8% with a resistivity of 1·8 × 10 −3 -cm. The AZO film exhibits optical transparency of 90·3% in the visible region and shows an electrical resistivity of 2·5 × 10 −3 -cm.