Carbon micro/nanofibers and nanotubes were deposited via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using CH2I2 precursor and different metal catalysts (Pd, Ni, Fe, Co and Mn) on Si (1 0 0) substrates. A versatile and low-cost IR lamp technique is employed to induce the deposition process. With this method carbon features could be obtained already at temperatures much lower than with common techniques. Palladium metal was deposited by laser-assisted CVD from a liquid solution of the ammine complex and the 3d metals by thermal evaporation. Large-scale periodicity of nano-sized metal catalysts, and subsequently of carbon deposits was obtained by using monolayers of polystyrene microspheres as mask. The carbon structures were analyzed by SEM and micro-Raman spectroscopy. (C) 2008 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.