Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of nitrogen-incorporated silicon oxycarbide thin films obtained from the gas mixture of TMOS (tetramethoxysilane), N-2, and NH3 is studied. The effects of the TMOS to N-2 pressure ratio on the properties of the film and the plasma are investigated. The deposited films are analyzed by in situ ellipsometry, ex situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The plasma is characterized by using optical emission spectroscopy (OES). The mass spectra of the constituents in the plasma are obtained by quadrupole mass spectroscopy. The correlation between the film properties and the plasma characteristics is explained wherever possible. As the partial pressure of N-2 is decreased, the refractive index begins to decrease, reaches a minimum, and then saturates. The FTIR absorption bands are observed from about 850 to 1000 cm(-1) and from 1000 to 1250 cm(-1), and can be attributed to the formation of a nitrogen-incorporated silicon oxycarbide thin film. The variation of the refractive index is discussed in relationship with the deposition rate, the OES spectra, the mass spectra of the plasma, the film composition obtained by XPS, and FTIR spectra. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.