Nitrogen doped amorphous carbon (a-C:N) thin films were deposited on p-Si substrates by DC magnetron sputtering at varying substrate temperature from room temperature (RT) to 300 degrees C. The bonding structure, surface morphology and adhesion strength of the a-C:N films were investigated by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), micro-Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and micro-scratch testing. The corrosion behavior of the a-C:N films was evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization test in a 0.6 M NaCl solution. The results indicated that the corrosion resistance of the films depended on the sp(3)-bonded cross-link structure that was significantly affected by the substrate temperature. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.