The hollow cathode plasma torch has been used for several years. One of the major applications has been the deposition of dielectric thin films. However, this technique has also been used to deposit metals where high-speed deposition is needed. It has proven to be useful in deposition of coatings onto the inside of substrates of complex shape, high-speed etching, and deposition of thin films at atmospheric pressure. In recent years, we have adapted the technique to deposit high-quality amorphous and polycrystalline semiconducting films. A large variety of measurement techniques have been employed to determine the film properties and the results are reported here. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.