Hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (muc-Si:H) channel layers were synthesized at a temperature below 100degreesC by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) methods. High ionization efficiency and low ion bombardment from the ICP, enabled the use of high ICP power and, thus, extremely dense plasma or markedly increased electron temperature, promoting the diffusion capability of the reactive radicals that eventually yield ICP muc-Si:H films with large grains of several tens of nanometers, a high deposition rate of 5 Angstrom/s, and a smooth roughness of similar to1 nm. Accordingly, the epitaxial growth of muc-Si:H films at room temperature is demonstrated. (C) 2004 The Electrochemical Society.