High growth-rate Si epitaxy by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) has been investigated for a thin-him solar cell application. A high growth rate of 50 mum/h was obtained at 1050 degreesC with plasma which is 50% larger than that by the conventional CVD without plasma. The electrical properties are almost the same for epitaxial layers with and without plasma. For undoped n-type layers, the Hall mobility and carrier density were about 600 cm(2)/V s and low 10(15) cm(-3), respectively. The electron diffusion length in doped p-type layers was about 20 mum. These electrical properties for the layer with plasma, in spite of higher growth rate, are comparable or better than those without plasma. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.