Tantalum oxide (Ta2O5) films were synthesized by plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition from pentakis(dimethylamino)tantalum (Ta[N(CH3)(2)](5)), precursor and remote O-2 plasma as oxidation source. Film growth was monitored in situ by spectroscopic ellipsometry, and film properties were investigated for deposition temperatures between 100 and 225 degrees C. Saturated precursor dosing conditions and plasma exposure times were identified and growth rates ranging from 0.8 A/cycle at 225 degrees C to 0.87 A/cycle at 100 degrees C were obtained. The deposited films were found to be stoichiometric (Ta:O=2:5). Moreover, no N incorporation was detected, and the C content was below the detection limit of the Rutherford backscattering measurement (< 2 at. %) for all films studied. The mass density of the films, ranging from 7.8 g cm(-3) at 100 degrees C to 8.1 g cm(-3) at 225 degrees C, was found to be close to the bulk Ta2O5 density. The deviation could partly be accounted for by the amount of H detected with elastic recoil detection analysis, varying from 2 at. % at 225 degrees C to 4.6 at. % at 100 degrees C. X-ray diffraction revealed that all films were amorphous, independent of deposition temperature. The reaction mechanisms, in particular, during the plasma step, were investigated by using quadrupole mass spectrometry and optical emission spectroscopy. During the plasma step, combustion products such as CO, CO2, and H2O were detected. This indicates that combustionlike processes occur, in which the alkylamide N(CH3)(2) ligands are oxidized by the O radicals generated in the plasma. Additionally, the presence of excited C N-* molecules in the plasma was observed in the plasma emission. (c) 2008 American Vacuum Society.