The effects of the silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4) concentration on the growth of the nanocrystalline silicon film using SiCl4/hydrogen (H-2) reactants are investigated here. An almost twice enhancement of the deposition rate of the silicon film, while still maintaining the film with a high crystal fraction at a level of 96%, is achieved by increasing the SiCl4 concentration from 17 to 26% at a substrate temperature of 270 degreesC. The similar trends of the crystal fraction and deposition rate with the SiCl4 concentration are also observed from those films deposited at 180 degreesC. The morphologies of the nanocrystalline silicon films with a thickness of 460 nm which deposited at 270 degreesC from various SiCl4 concentrations are similar whereas they are drastically different as the film thickness increases to 2.6 mum. The roles of the SiCl4 concentration, which relates to Cl radical and H radical concentrations in gas phase, in the growth behaviors of the nanocrystalline silicon films are discussed. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.