Polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin films were deposited by remote plasma chemical vapor deposition (RPCVD) using a gas mixture of SiF4-SiH4-H-2. Structural and electrical properties were determined as a function of the substrate temperature T-s (220-450 degrees C). The deposition rate was found to decrease with increasing T-s. The etch rate by F atoms increases with T-s, which explains the observed behavior of the deposition rate. The polycrystalline volume fraction was found to be approximately 81% and the average grain size is 20-100 nn for the poly-Si films deposited between 220 degrees C and 350 degrees C. The optical band gap decreases (1.8 eV to 1.6 eV) with increasing T-s. An exponential absorption edge in the optical absorption coefficient, i.e. the Urbach absorption edge, is observed in the poly-Si films. The Urbach energy,indicating the disorder of the material, increases (80-150 meV) with increasing T-s.