Ta/Cu is a strategic material combination for ultra-large-scale integrated wafer technology. Here we report an unconventional method for the synthesis of a [110]-oriented nanocrystalline alpha-Ta thin film on freshly prepared Cu(111) templates at < 50 &DEG;C without any redundant underlayers and post-growth treatments. The crystallite size of the α-Ta-containing thin film is in the range of only 6-8 nm, and the Ta film resistivity is reduced significantly from 186 μ&UOmega; cm down to 104 μ&UOmega; cm with this novel method.