Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the fabrication of integrated circuits. More particularly, the embodiments described herein provide techniques for depositing high-density films for patterning applications. In one or more embodiments, a method of processing a substrate is provided and includes flowing a deposition gas containing a hydrocarbon compound and a dopant compound into a processing volume of a process chamber having a substrate positioned on an electrostatic chuck, where the processing volume is maintained at a pressure of about 0.5 mTorr to about 10 Torr The method also includes generating a plasma at the substrate by applying a first RF bias to the electrostatic chuck to deposit a doped diamond-like carbon film on the substrate, where the doped diamond-like carbon film has a density of greater than 2 g/cc and a stress of less than -500 MPa.