The plasma produced by laser ablation of a graphite target was studied by means of optical emission spectroscopy and a Langmuir planar probe. Laser ablation was performed using a Nd:YAG laser with emission at the fundamental line with pulse length of 28 ns. In this work, we report the behavior of the mean kinetic energy of plasma ions and the plasma density, as a function of the laser fluence (J/cm(2)), and the target to probe (substrate) distance. The characterized regimes were employed to deposit amorphous carbon at different values of kinetic energy of the ions and plasma density. The mean kinetic energy of the ions could be changed from 40 to 300 eV, and the plasma density could be varied from 1 x 10(12) to 7 x 10(13) cm(-3). The main emitting species were C+ (283.66, 290.6, 299.2 and 426.65 nm) and C++ (406.89 and 418.66 nm) with the C+ (426.65 nm) being the most intense and that which persisted for the longest times. Different combinations of the plasma parameters yield amorphous carbon with different structures. Low levels (about 40 eV) of ion energy produce graphitic materials, while medium levels (about 200 eV) required the highest plasma densities in order to increase the C-C sp(3) bonding content and therefore the hardness of the films. The structure of the material was studied by means of Raman spectroscopy, and the hardness and elastic modulus by depth sensitive nanoindentation. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.