Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films were deposited on sapphire substrate by using radio-frequency magnetron sputtering and were performed in the temperature range of $600-900^{circ}C$ by rapid thermal annealing (RTA). The crystallographic structure and the surface morphology were investigated by using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The crystallinity of the films was improved with increasing the annealing temperature and the average size of crystalline grains was found to be 50 nm. All the thin films showed an average transmittance of 92% in the wavelength range of 400-1100 nm. As the annealing temperature was increased, the bandgap energy was decreased and the violet photoluminescence (PL) signal at 400 nm replaced the ultraviolet PL signal. The electrical properties of the thin films showed a significant dependence on the annealing temperature.