Using laser-induced crystallization, we successfully fabricated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) /SiO2 multilayers from hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) /SiO2 multilayers, which were prepared by alternate deposition of a-Si:H layer and in situ plasma oxidation in a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition system. The microstructure of the multilayers was characterized by the following techniques: cross-section transmission electron microscopy, low-angle X-ray diffraction, Raman scattering, electron diffraction and atomic force microscopy. The results show that nc-Si crystals with high density have formed within as-deposited a-Si:H layers and that their size can be precisely controlled by adjusting the thickness of a-Si:H layers based on the constrained crystallization principle. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.