Microcrystalline silicon carbide (muc-Si1-xCx) films were successfully deposited by the hot wire cell method using a gas mixture of SiH4, H-2 and C2H2. It was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared and X-ray diffraction analyses that the films consisted of muc-Si grains embedded in a-Si1-xCx tissue. The p-type muc-Si1-xCx films were deposited using B2H6 as a doping gas. A dark conductivity of 0.2 S/cm and an activation energy of 0.067 eV were obtained. The p-type muc-Si1-xCx was used as a window layer of a-Si solar cells, in which the intrinsic layer was deposited by photo-chemical vapor deposition, and an initial conversion efficiency of 10.2% was obtained. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.