We characterized hydrogenated amorphous Si/single-crystalline Si 1%x Ge x heterojunction solar cells grown on Si substrates with Ge content (x) between 0.49 and 0.84 in an effort to develop materials with a bandgap range of 0.9-1.0 eV for solar applications. We showed that 3-µm-thick Si 0.16 Ge 0.84 films grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on a virtual substrate composed of buffer layers with stepwise gradation of their composition have an almost fully strain-relaxed condition and a low dislocation density, less than 10 5 cm %2 . An absorption edge extending up to 1300 nm and an increased quantum efficiency were observed in Si 1%x Ge x cells with x = 0.49, 0.70, and 0.84. Consequently, the short-circuit current density increased non-linearly with Ge content, being 14.0 and 24.0 mA/cm 2 for 3-µm-thick Si and Si 0.16 Ge 0.84 cells, respectively.