Abstract: This disclosure describes systems and methods for making at least a portion of a photovoltaic device. This may include a method of manufacturing, an optimization procedure and an apparatus for the PECVD (plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition) of thin films over large area substrates. In particular, the system may be used to deposit thin film silicon material for photovoltaic (PV) applications. The photovoltaic device may be achieved by a combination of plasma chamber design (e.g., inter-electrode separation) and plasma process parameters (e.g., pressure, applied RF voltage, etc.) to optimize the doped and/or intrinsic layers of the solar cell (e.g., p-i-n junction).