We investigate the microstructures of polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) films formed by flash lamp annealing (FLA) of 4.5-mu m-thick precursor a-Si films prepared by catalytic chemical vapor deposition (Cat-CVD) on Cr-coated textured glass Substrates. Crystallization of a-Si is performed, keeping the dome-shaped structure formed during deposition of a-Si. The poly-Si film consists of densely-packed fine grains with sizes an the order of 10 nm. The grain size tends to increase approaching the Si/Cr interface, which can be understood as the result of solid-phase nucleation and following crystallization. Minority carrier lifetimes of the poly-Si films are worse than those formed on flat substrates. This degradation might be due to gaps in the Si layer formed during a-Si deposition or FLA. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.