We succeeded in obtaining strained Si1-yCy films at a substrate temperature of 200 degreesC by the hot-wire cell method. The substitutional carbon concentration in films annealed at 700 degreesC was 0.9%, while it was limited to 0.13% for a sample grown by gas-source molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) at a substrate temperature of 700 degreesC. We investigated the thermal stability of strained Si1-yCy films for device application. Annealing at over 900 degreesC caused the formation of 3C-SiC and relaxation of the strain occurred. From this result, we found that the process temperature should be lower than 800 degreesC. A low-temperature MOSFET process, in which all process temperatures after deposition of Si1-yCy were lower than 800 degreesC, was developed and a strained Si1-yCy MOSFET was fabricated. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.