A Ni-base alloy Inconel 600 has been used as substrate for growing two typical carbon thin film materials, diamond and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), in a hot. lament chemical vapor deposition reactor with methane-hydrogen mixture. Under typical deposition conditions, the deposits formed on the as-polished alloy substrate comprise duplex layers, outer diamond layer and intermediate graphite layer. An Al thin film applied as an interlayer on the Inconel alloy effectively prevented the growth of intermediate graphite, and only a dense, adherent diamond film was deposited. When the substrate was negatively biased, a glow discharge was initiated and aligned carbon nanotubes were exclusively synthesized. No diamond was formed in this case. (C) 2008 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.