Carbon films and coatings are industrially very versatile and have a multiplicity of applications, such as conductive coatings or chemical and thermal protection layers. However, in most cases they are fabricated by the expensive vapor process, which has prevented a wider commercialization of these products. Herein, carbon films are fabricated using an inexpensive polymer-solution-based or sol–gel coating process , exemplified by spin coating of thin layers. As carbon precursor, the oligomeric form of acrodam, a high nitrogen-containing and non-volatile compound which is known to have excellent carbon yields, was employed. The oligomer is synthesized from commercially available starting materials (diaminoma-leonitrile (DAMN) and acrolein) and dissolves in various organic solvents. The carbonized films were found to be homogeneous, optically flat, void-and crack-free, and were fabricated with up to 800 nm thickness after a carbonization step. High conductivities (up to 334 S cm À1) were achieved at the carbonization temperature of 1000 °C.