Polycrystalline In x Ga 1-x N thin films were prepared by mixed source modified activated reactive evaporation (MARE) technique. The films were deposited at room temperature on glass substrates without any buffer layer. All the films crystallize in the hexagonal wurtzite structure. The indium concentration calculated from XRD peak shift using Vegard's law was found to be varying from 2% to 92%. The band gap varies from 1.72 eV to 3.2 eV for different indium compositions. The indium rich films have higher refractive indices as compared to the gallium rich films. The near infra-red absorption decreases with gallium incorporation into InN lattice which is mainly due to decrease in the free carrier concentration in the alloy system. This fact is further supported from Hall effect measurements. MARE turns out to be a promising technique to grow In x Ga 1-x N films over the entire composition range at room temperature. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.