The remote microwave hydrogen plasma chemical vapor deposition (RP-CVD) from bis(dimethylamino)methylsilane precursor was used for the synthesis of silicon carbonitride (Si:C:N) films. The effect of thermal activation on the RP-CVD process was examined by determining the mass-and the thickness-based film growth rate and film growth yield, at different substrate temperature (T-S). It was found that the mechanism of the process depends on T-S and for low substrate temperature regime, 30 degrees C < T-S < 100 degrees C, RP-CVD is limited by desorption of film-forming precursors, whereas for high substrate temperature regime, 100 degrees C < T-S < 400 degrees C, RP-CVD is a non-thermally activated and mass-transport limited process. The Si:C:N films were characterized by X-ray photoelectron and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies, as well as by atomic force microscopy. The increase of T-S enhances crosslinking in the film via the formation of nitridic Si-N and carbidic Si-C bonds. On the basis of the structural data a hypothetical crsosslinking reactions contributing to silicon carbonitride network formation have been proposed. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.