  Combination of electrical conductivity and optical transparency in the same
material -- known to be a prerogative of only a few oxides of post-transition
metals, such as In, Sn, Zn and Cd -- manifests itself in a distinctive band
structure of the transparent conductor host. While the oxides of other elements
with $s^2$ electronic configuration, for example, Mg, Ca, Sc and Al, also
exhibit the desired optical and electronic features, they have not been
considered as candidates for achieving good electrical conductivity because of
the challenges of efficient carrier generation in these wide-bandgap materials.
Here we demonstrate that alternative approaches to the problem not only allow
attaining the transport and optical properties which compete with those in
currently utilized transparent conducting oxides (TCO), but also significantly
broaden the range of materials with a potential of being developed into novel
functional transparent conductors.
