Carbon nitride films were deposited on < 111 > Si substrates by pulsed laser ablation of graphite targets in low pressure (1-50 Pa) N-2 atmosphere. The irradiations were performed with an XeCl excimer laser at the fluences of 12 and 16 J/cm(2). Many different diagnostic techniques (SEM, RES, XPS, XRD, TEM) have been applied to characterize the deposited layers. The deposition rate decreases with increasing ambient pressure. The N/C atomic ratio into the deposited films generally increases with increasing ambient pressure and laser fluence. N/C values up to 0.7 were inferred from the RES spectra. There are evidences of the formation of quite large crystals, which have grown almost epitaxially on the < 111 > Si substrate. Heating of the substrates during depositions causes a reduction of the N/C ratio. Optical emission spectra of the laser plasma plume have been recorded and analyzed, to try to correlate plasma characteristics with the composition of the deposited films.