Amorphous fluorocarbon polymer films (a-C:F) have been grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition from a new precursor, namely perfluoro-octane (C8F18) vapor. The dielectric and insulating properties of the films have been assessed by means of capacitance-voltage and current-voltage characteristics, breakdown voltage measurements, scanning electron microscopy, and ellipsometric analyses. In the investigated frequency range, 120 Hz-1 MHz, the films have a low dielectric constant (approximate to2.4) and a low dielectric loss (less than or equal to3 x 10(-2)). The electrical conduction mechanism is ohmic in the weak electric field regime, with a bulk resistivity of 4 x 10(15) Omega cm, and a trap modulated space charge limited conduction in the strong electric field regime. For a film thickness between 1 and 12 mum, the dielectric strength varies with film thickness according to E(B)similar toh(-0.53). For a film thickness of 1 mum the film dielectric strength was 2.7 MV/cm while for 12 mum it decreased to 0.9 MV/cm. Measurements of the breakdown voltage in nitrogen gas in the low pressure regime between a-C:F coated cathode and copper anode showed an enhancement of the breakdown voltage by a factor of 2.5 with respect to the case of copper-copper electrodes. (C) 2004 American Vacuum Society.