Low energy ion pretreatment of silicon dioxide (SiO2) surfaces results in a reduced incubation time (t(inc)) for polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) deposition by rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition. By pretreating SiO2 surfaces with inert (He+, Ar+) and chemically active species (H+, N+), it was determined that ion pretreatments reduce t(inc), and increase the poly-Si nuclei density by creating nucleation sites via a physical damage mechanism, rather than a chemical process.