Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) are unique materials that, as thin films, find many applications of great importance in current display, photovoltaic, energy conservation, and lighting applications. However, it is not clear that current generation TCO materials (e.g., tin-doped indium oxide, ITO) will meet the stringent performance and cost requirements for next-generation opto-electronic technologies. This lecture focuses on designing, growing, characterizing, understanding, and implementing next-generation transparent conducting oxide thin films. This includes optimizing them for both current as well as completely new applications.