NOVELTY - The method comprises depositing a transparent conducting oxide-(TCO) layer (2) on a substrate (1) by moving the substrate in a coating system to a coating source with a ceramic or metallic target in a transport direction, coating the substrate, where the coating is carried out on a cold substrate at a temperature of up to 180 degrees C, and thermally activating the TCO-layer on a partial surface of the substrate via rapid thermal processing by impulsive energy using electromagnetic radiation or particle bombardment, where the impulsive energy is used for 1 mu s to 1 second.    USE - The method is useful for preparing and treating an optically scattering transparent conducting oxide layer on a substrate for manufacturing solar cells or solar panels comprising an absorber based on amorphous silicon or amorphous and microcrystalline silicon (all claimed).    ADVANTAGE - The method is capable of economically and rapidly preparing and treating the optically scattering transparent conducting oxide layer with reduced energy and high durability and quality.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - The method comprises depositing a transparent conducting oxide-(TCO) layer (2) on a substrate (1) by moving the substrate in a coating system to a coating source with a ceramic or metallic target in a transport direction, coating the substrate, where the coating is carried out on a cold substrate at a temperature of up to 180 degrees C, thermally activating the TCO-layer on a partial surface of the substrate via rapid thermal processing by impulsive energy using electromagnetic radiation or particle bombardment, where the impulsive energy is used for 1 mu s to 1 second, depositing a separation layer made of a material having low thermal conductivity, depositing a TCO-sacrificial layer (3) on the activated TCO-layer, and etching a surface of the TCO-layer stack by partial wet etching of the TCO-sacrificial layer to achieve a textured surface with light-diffusing property. The thermal activation step takes place along a line transverse to the transport direction, where the thermally activated surface portion extends over an entire width of the substrate across the transport direction. The TCO-sacrificial layer exhibits higher magnitude surface resistance and sheet resistance or lower transmission and better corroding ability than the TCO-layer. The TCO-layer having sheet resistance is deposited in the range of 5-15 Ohms. The TCO-sacrificial layer is deposited as a transparent or as a partially transparent layer. The TCO-layer and the TCO-sacrificial layer are made from same or different materials and doped during the deposition, where the doping of the layers correspond to each other or different from each other.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The figure shows a schematic view of a TCO-layer treated by rapid thermal processing.    Substrate (1)    TCO-layer (2)    TCO-sacrificial layer (3)    Total layer thickness of the TCO-layer stack (7)    Upper side of the layer. (8)