Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films were prepared by changing substrate temperature of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition to induce different contents of monohydride and polyhydride bonds, which were then crystallized into polysilicon (poly-Si) films by rapid energy transfer annealing. Fourier transform infrared and transmission spectra show that the formation of numerous polyhydride bonds increases the hydrogen content and reduces the refractive index of a-Si:H films. The rise in the concentration of polyhydride bonds in as-deposited a-Si:H films can result in the increase of ultraviolet reflectance, small peak shift, and change in full width at half maximum of Raman scattering and X-ray diffraction peaks of the obtained poly-Si films after annealing. These results demonstrate that high-concentration polyhydride bonds can promote the rapid crystallization of a-Si:H and obtain high-crystallinity poly-Si films. Transmission electron microscopy identifies that the poly-Si films have the typical dendrite-like grain structure. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.