In is paper, the transient behavior of silane molecules in the initial plasma ignition stage on the properties of microcrystalline silicon films is studied using tailored initial SiH(4) density method, and the results are analyzed by Raman spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry. Compared with standard plasma ignition conditions, tailored initial SiH(4) density conditions result higher crystallinity in the interface between substrate and bulk film. Finally, tailored and standard conditions are used in i-layer deposition processes of p-i-n and n-i-p solar cells. It is demonstrated that tailored initial SiH(4) density conditions is helpful for the efficiency improvement of n-i-p solar cells and standard plasma ignition conditions for p-i-n solar cells. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.