This paper discusses the deposition of microcrystalline silicon, &mgr;c‐Si, by the remote plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process. We discuss the deposition process, and the properties of undoped and doped &mgr;c‐Si thin films. We emphasize the properties of an ‘‘intrinsic’’ &mgr;c‐Si thin films material that is obtained by light boron doping. The properties of this material, in particular its effective band‐gap of 1.44 eV, its relatively high photoconductivity and its undetectable Staebler‐Wronski degradation make it a candidate material for the i‐layer photo‐active constituent of p‐i‐n PV devices.