Hydrogenated amorphous-silicon thin films (a-Si:H) were deposited by microwave plasma chemical-vapour decomposition of SiH4, on thin polyethylene sheets. The high-resolution, far infrared measurements were performed on these films in the 700–50 cm−1 region on a Nicolet far infrared interferometer. The use of polyethylene as the substrate material permitted the determination of the absorption bands at 656.4, 652, 639.4, and 543 cm−1 with a shoulder at 539 cm−1 and a broad feature at 70.8 cm−1. These features provided evidence for SiH, SiH2 (as predicted by Lucovsky et al.), and SiH3 combinations in the film, as well as far more complex systems.