In this work, amorphous carbon thin films for hard mask applications were deposited by a reactive particle beam (RPB) assisted sputtering system at room temperature. The deposition characteristics of the films were investigated as functions of operating parameters such as reflector bias voltage and RF plasma power. By spectroscopic ellipsometry, the decrease in the refractive index of films at the wavelengths of 633 and 248 nm was observed with the increasing plasma power. In Raman spectra, the positions of G line shifted to higher wavenumbers; with increasing plasma power. When the reflector bias voltage increases, the deposition rate was increased but the positions of G line remained nearly unchanged. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.