Hydrogenated amorphous carbon films have been deposited on tungsten and quartz substrates at room temperature by photolytic dissociation of CH2I2. An Ar+ cw laser operating at 350 nm was used as the excitation source. The laser beam was focused parallel to the substrate surface. The deposition process was investigated as a function of laser power and total pressure. The carbon films were analysed by micro-Raman spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The growth mechanism is discussed from results and analysis.