Aluminum oxide was deposited at 45 degrees C by atomic layer deposition onto an atomically smooth gold surface coated with a CH3-terminated alkanethiolate self-assembled monolayer (SAM) and onto an OH-terminated silicon dioxide surfaces. The growth of the resulting films was characterized with reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy, contact-angle measurement, and atomic force microscope. Aluminum oxide films on the SAMs exhibited a growth instability, while the films on the OH-terminated silicon dioxide maintained an atomically smooth surface. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.