Thin aluminum oxide coatings have been deposited at a low temperature of 80 degrees C on various uncoated papers, polymer-coated papers and boards and plain polymer films using the atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. The work demonstrates that such ALD-grown Al(2)O(3) coatings efficiently enhance the gas-diffusion barrier performance of the studied porous and non-porous materials towards oxygen, water vapor and aromas. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.