SiNx:H anti-reflective coating (ARC) layers were successfully grown by an in-line plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system with an extremely high throughput. Film thickness and refractive index of the as-grown samples were evaluated as functions of growth parameters, Such as growth pressure, total gas flow rate, radio frequency (RF) power and SiH4 to NH3 gas ratio. It was found that we could achieve high quality films with proper growth conditions and proper post-deposition annealing. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.