Relationship between performance of pin a-Si:H solar cells and the properties of intrinsic (i) layer prepared by catalytic chemical vapor deposition (Cat-CVD) was studied in detail. Properties of i-layers obtained at the various deposition parameters were investigated, and solar cells were fabricated by using such i-layers. It was found that the optimum temperature to obtain i-layers for high-efficiency solar cells is higher than that of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) solar cells. Although i-layer was prepared at high temperatures, impurity diffusion from p-layer to Cat-CVD i-layer was suppressed. Performance of solar cells using i-layer prepared at the optimum temperature was nearly equivalent to that of conventional PECVD solar cells, while the stability of Cat-CVD cells appears to be more improved than that of PECVD ones. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.