Amorphous "diamond-like/quartz-like" composites a-(C:H/Si:O) constitute a novel class of diamond-related materials with a number of unique bulk and surface properties. In order to gain a more fundamental understanding of the growth and surface properties of these diamond-like atomic-scale composite materials we have performed an atomic force microscopy investigation of the surfaces of a-(C:H/Si:O) films (deposited on Si (001) substrates) ranging in thickness from 50 Angstrom to 5 x 10(4) nm.