Phase diagrams have been studied to describe the RF PECVD process for intrinsic-hydrogenated silicon Si:H and silicon-low germanium alloy a-Si1-xGex:H thin films using textured Al substrates that have been overdeposited with n-type amorphous SM (n(+) a-Si:H). UV, vis, IR, atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy, small angle X-ray and cross-section transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are used to establish the phase diagram. The a-Si:H, a-Si1-xGex, and mu c-Si:H processes are applied for optimization of triple-junction thin silicon-based n-i-p solar cells. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.