To obtain high deposition rates for microcrystalline silicon (muc-Si:H) with the Hot-Wire-CVD process under the constraint of a low substrate temperature of 250 degreesC, various combinations of hot wire arrangements and filament temperatures have been investigated. Raman and infrared spectroscopy and measurements of the dark and photo conductivity are used to evaluate the quality of the material. It is found that lowering the filament-substrate distance at low filament temperature results in a better material quality than higher filament temperatures at larger filament distances. High quality muc-Si:H was deposited at approximately 4 Angstrom s(-1) with filament temperatures of 1700-1750 degreesC and filament-substrate distances of 50-54 mm. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.