The growth of thin films from low-temperature plasmas plays an important ro
le in many applications such as optical or wear-resistant layers or for the
fabrication of electronic devices. Albeit of great importance, the underly
ing growth mechanisms responsible for film formation from low-temperature p
lasmas are not well known. The direct identification of a growth mechanism
is often hampered by the huge complexity of the bulk plasma processes and t
he plasma-surface interaction. The distribution of impinging species is ver
y diverse, and ions, radicals and neutrals are interacting simultaneously w
ith the growing film surface. A macroscopic quantity such as the growth rat
e can be the result of possible synergisms and anti-synergisms among a larg
e variety of growth precursors. Due to the broad range of plasma-deposited
materials as well as deposition methods, the objective of this paper is not
to review them all, but to present a basic overview on the elementary surf
ace mechanisms of radicals and ions. On the basis of these surface reaction
s, typical growth models will be discussed. As an example, for surface proc
esses during thin-film growth, the current deposition models for amorphous
hydrogenated carbon and silicon films are presented.