Silicide formation of wires during hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) of silicon based coatings is a key challenge which has to be overcome before HWCVD can be transferred successfully into industry. Silicide formation of tungsten wires is not occurring at temperatures of approximately 1900 degrees C and above when maintaining a silane partial pressure below approximately 1 Pa. Proceeding silicide formation at the cold ends where the wires are electrically contacted was completely prevented by continuously moving the cold ends of the wires into the hot deposition zone, resulting in a retransformation of the tungsten phase. Thus the maintenance period of a HWCVD manufacturing tool can be freed from wire lifetime. (C) 2014 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.