For the “Hot Wire” chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) method to be applicable for photovoltaic applications certain critical technical issues need to be addressed and resolved such as, lifetime of the filaments used, reproducibility, large area demonstration of the material and stable devices. We have developed a new approach which addresses some of these problems, specifically longevity of the filaments and reproducibility of the materials produced. This new technique does not seem to introduce contaminants into the materials from the source and can produce high quality amorphous Silicon (intrinsic and doped) and intrinsic microcrystalline silicon films. ©1999 American Institute of Physics.