This Letter reports on the preparation and properties of germanium-doped silica thin films by a new technique namely inductively coupled plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (ICP-CVD). 13.56 MHz ICP was generated inside the chamber upon the supplying of I KW r.f. power at 2.5 Pa. The Films have been deposited on Si-wafers from the tetraethoxysilane, tetramethoxygermane and oxygen system at 400 degreesC. The behaviors of similar to200 and similar to240 nm UV absorptions under different treatment conditions comprising annealing temperatures and excimer laser exposure have been systematically investigated. A low propagation loss of similar to0.1 dB/cm at 1550 nm has been achieved. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.