Materials deposited in continuous wave(cw) and pulsed low-pressure octafluoropropane (C3F8) and octafluorocyclobutane (c-C4F8) plasmas were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, static contact angle measurements, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Fluorocarbon (FC) materials deposited in pulsed plasmas were less crosslinked than those deposited in cw plasmas with equivalent input powers. Within each system, higher F/C ratio materials were deposited by lowering the plasma input power/duty cycle. Using downstream depositions had a similar effect on film composition, but also resulted in decreased deposition rates. SEM analysis showed that decreases in the flexibility of the fluorocarbon films were correlated with increases in the percent of crosslinking. Additionally, the smoothness of the film surfaces suggests that polymerization processes occur on the substrate surface. Overall, films deposited in C4F8 plasmas were more crosslinked and less flexible than those deposited in C3F8 plasmas under the same conditions. The composition of the deposited FC films is correlated to the nature and relative concentrations of nascent ions previously measured in these plasma systems using plasma ion mass spectrometry. (C) 2004 American Vacuum Society.