Thin silicon film samples were deposited using HWCVD and PECVD techniques to study the influence of laser annealing oil their optical and electronic properties. Samples were annealed in air using a XeCl excimer and Nd:Yag lasers. Excimer laser annealing (ELA) at 50 to 222 mJ/cm(2) increased conductivity in PECVD films by 2 to 3 orders of magnitude and in HWCVD films by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude. ELA was also seen to decrease the optical gap in PECVD films by 0.5 eV and HWCVD films by 0.15 eV. Silicon-oxygen bond content was higher in as-deposited HWCVD films than PECVD films. Hydrogen content (at.%) in PECVD films was higher than HWCVD for higher H dilution ratios. A Nd:Yag laser 3-bearn interference pattern was used to produce a periodic array of crystals in both PECVD and HWCVD films. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.