Silicon carbide films were synthesized by methane plasma immersion ion implantation into silicon and their proper-ties were investigated. The molecular ions dissociate upon entry into the sample surface and our simulation results show that the implanted hydrogen peak is located at about twice as deep as the implanted carbon. The films undergo a transformation from hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide to beta-SiC with increasing annealing temperature. The amount of Si-C bonds increases with annealing temperature whereas the C-C bonds change in an opposite manner. At high temperature, a large amount of beta-SiC forms and graphitization takes place within the remaining carbon clusters. For the sample annealed at 1300degreesC, Si-C bonds are detected by Raman spectroscopy, and our data indicate that beta-SiC grains may contribute to the strong photoluminescence behavior. (C) 2003 American Vacuum Society.