An atmospheric pressure plasma jet, using a hexamethyldisilazane and oxygen mixture, was used to deposit an organosilicon thin film on polycarbonate (PC) substrates. The atmospheric pressure plasma jet deposited homogeneous thin films without unfavorable contamination from the plasma source. The surface properties of the organosilicon thin films were studied as a function of oxygen gas flow rate. The atmospheric pressure plasma deposited organosilicon thin films were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-vis spectrometry and atomic forced microscopy. Surface analysis showed that atmospheric pressure plasma deposited films are more inorganic as the oxygen flowrate increases. The UV-vis spectra, detected in the range 300-800 nm, demonstrated improved transparency in the visible region and increased absorption in UV region of the spectrum. The improved hardness of the atmospheric pressure plasma deposited PC substrates was measured using a pencil hardness testing method and this was related to the chemical composition of the plasma deposited organosilicon thin films. The plasma jet allowed deposition of the coating without a chamber. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.