The fabrication of p-i-n structured Si thin-film solar cells by rf plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD) of a SiH2Cl2-H-2 mixture is presented. A novel p-type nanocrystalline Si:H:Cl film was synthesized from H-2-diluted SiH2Cl2 and SiCl4 which showed high conductivity and low optical absorption in the visible and near-infrared regions. An efficiency of 6.2% was achieved in a-Si:H:Cl p-i-n structured solar cells fabricated for the first time from a SiH2Cl2-H-2 mixture at a substrate temperature T-s of 340 degrees C despite using a single chamber system. Thus, in addition to SiH4, SiH2Cl2 is also a possible candidate for a source material for fabricating Si thin-film solar cells using PE-CVD at low temperatures. (c) 2005 Published by Elsevier B.V.