Highly conducting p- and n-type poly-Si:H films were deposited by hot wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) using SiH4 + H-2 + B2H6 and SiH4 + H-2 + PH3 gas mixtures, respectively. Conductivity of 1.2 X 10(2) (Omega cm)(-1) for the p-type films and 2.25 X 10(2) (Omega cm)(-1) for the n-type films was obtained. These are the highest values obtained so far by this technique. The increase in conductivity with substrate temperature (T-s) is attributed to the increase in grain size as reflected in the atomic force microscopy results. Interestingly conductivity of n-type films is higher than the p-type films deposited at the same T-s. To test the applicability of these films as gate contact Al/poly-Si/SiO2/Si capacitor structures with oxide thickness of 4 nm were fabricated on n-type c-Si wafers. Sputter etching of the poly-Si was optimized in order to fabricate the devices. The performance of the HWCVD poly-Si as gate material was monitored using C-V measurements on a MOS test device at different frequencies. The results reveal that as deposited poly-Si without annealing shows low series resistance. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.