A process for creating plasma polymerized deposition on a substrate using a glow discharge is described. The glow discharge is created between an electrode (16) and a counterelectrode (24). A mixture of a balance gas and a tetraalkylorthosilicate is flowed through the glow discharge onto a substrate (28) to deposit a coating onto the substrate as an optically clear coating or to create surface modification. The process, which is preferably carried out at or near atmospheric pressure, can be designed to create an optically clear powder-free or virtually powder free coating.