Microcrystalline silicon carbide (mu c-SiC) was prepared at Substrate temperatures between 300 degrees C and 450 degrees C using hot-wire chemical vapour deposition (HWCVD). The SiC films were deposited from monomethylsilane (MMS) diluted in hydrogen on glass and crystalline silicon substrates. The influence of the hydrogen dilution, the filament temperature and the deposition pressure on the deposition rate, the structural and the optoelectronic properties was investigated. Infrared and Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were employed to study the structural properties. Optical absorption measurements by photothermal deflection spectroscopy (PDS) as well as dark- and photo-conductivity measurements were used to investigate the optoelectronic properties of the material. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.