By using a sputter-assisted chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of supermagnetron plasma, amorphous CN,:H films were deposited on the lower part of two parallel electrodes. By applying rf power to the upper electrode (UPRF) at 5 W to 800 W, polymer-like a-CNx:H films were deposited on substrates placed on the lower electrode with an rf power (LORF) of 10 W. The deposition rate increased as UPRF increased. The hardness was as low as about 6.5GPa, which is less than that of glass (13.1 GPa). The refractive index changed only slightly as UPRF changed from 1.6 to 1.75. The FT-IR spectrum showed strong absorption bands of NH and CH bonds at high and low UPRFs, respectively. The optical band gap was as large as 2.1 to 2.5, and it decreased as UPRF increased. These a-CN,:H films showed white photoluminescence (PL) with broadband. With the increase of UPRF from 5 W to 800 W, the PL peak energy shifted down from 2.3 eV to 1. 9 eV. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.