Inverted-staggered a-Si:H TUT was prepared by successive PECVD of a-SiN 1 . 7 :H and aSi:H layers. Drain current ID vs gate voltage VG 1 characteristics of the TFT were investigated. The gatc-voltage swing defined by S=dVG/d(log ID) in the subthreshold region was 1.4 V at room temperature. If the observed S value is attributed to the bulk gap state density, the space-charge layer width is estimated to be about 450 A. This value is too small compared with the a-Si:H layer width of about 3000 A in the TFT, which exhibits good performance. On the other hand, if the S value is attributed to the interface states, a state density of 1.5x10 12 (cm 2 eV)-1 is necessary.Nearly the same density, (1-2)xlO 12 (cm 2 eV)-1, nearly independent of the energy level, was obtained in our a-SiNt. 7 :H/c-Si interface by capacitance measurements. Therefore, it is concluded that the interface states are the main origin of the subthreshold characteristics in our a-Si:H TFT.