Silicon carbonitride (Si:C:N) films were produced by remote hydrogen-nitrogen microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (RP-CVD) from a 1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisilazane precursor with a nitrogen content {[N-2]/ ([H-2] + [N-2]) of 0.88 in the plasma-generating mixture and a substrate temperature in the range of 30-400 degrees C. The effects of the substrate temperature on the rate and yield of the RP-CVD process and chemical structure (examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) of the resulting films were investigated. The Si:C:N film properties were characterized in terms of the density, hardness, elastic modulus, and friction coefficient. With the IR structural data, reasonable structure-property relationships were determined. (C) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.