In this work we discuss thin film amorphous carbon, which is deposited in a dual frequency, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system in such a manner that it contains a small amount of nitrogen. Unlike most carbon films deposited using PECVD, the films in this study were deposited on the grounded electrode and therefore, subject to little energetic bombardment during growth. Methane was used as the carbon-containing precursor. We illustrate some potential applications for this type of film and discuss the effect of various process parameters on resultant film properties such as optical constants, resistivity, stoichiometry, and chemical bonding and structure.