Measurements at frequencies above 200 MHz have been made of the coupling factor, phase velocity, and propagation loss of dc‐triode‐sputtered zinc oxide film layers on oxidized silicon and fused quartz. Values of 2.2% have been obtained fork2. Propagation losses of 8.0 dB/&mgr;sec were observed at 630 MHz. The measurements strongly suggest that sputtered zinc oxide films can be obtained whose quality approaches very closely that of single‐crystal zinc oxide.