Positive and negative photoresists, which are commonly used in the semiconductor industry, were deposited on silicon wafers by spin coating and then pyrolyzed at temperatures of 600-1100 degreesC in an inert environment to produce thin carbon films. Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning probe microscopy involving current-sensing atomic force microscopy (CS-AFM) were utilized to characterize the properties of the carbon films. Raman spectroscopy showed two broad bands at approximately 1360 cm(-1) and 1600 cm(-1), which deconvoluted to four Gaussian bands. The origin of these bands is discussed. CS-AFM showed that the surface conductance increased with increased pyrolysis temperature, and the results are consistent with measurements by a four-point probe method. The XPS spectra revealed the presence of oxygen functional groups (C=O and C-O) on the carbon surface. The relative fraction of oxygen, O/C ratio, decreased as the pyrolysis temperature increased, in agreement with published results. The full-width at half-maximum of the C-1s peak obtained by XPS also decreased with increasing pyrolysis temperature.