Narrow band gap (similar to 1.5 eV) hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) were fabricated by a chemical annealing technique using noble gases (Ar, He, Ne). Although hydrogen content in the film was reduced to similar to 1 atm% and band gap was decreased to 1.52 eV, high photoconductivity and large mobility-lifetime products were maintained and no marked changes in the short-range structure was found. Using these narrow band gap a-Si:H for photoactive layer in n-i-p solar cells, reasonable photovoltaic performances were obtained, i.e., open-circuit voltage of 0.71 V and fill factor of 57%. Also enhanced red response was observed with the 1.58 eV band gap i-layer solar cell prepared on textured substrate. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.