This paper demonstrates the growth of tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) on a silicon (Si) substrate at room temperature (similar to 10 degrees C) by means of a liquid phase deposition (LPD) method. Good quality and reliability is obtained due to the low temperature process. The deposition rate is up to 136.5 nm/h and the refractive index of the LPD-Ta2O5/Si is about 1.86 after annealing at 400 degrees C. The LPD-Ta2O5 film produced on the Si substrate is used to fabricate a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitor with a device area of 0.3 cm(2), giving a surface charge about 1.6 x 10(11) cm(-2) and a breakdown voltage of 6.5 MV/cm. Also presented is a proposed mechanism for the LPD deposition of Ta2O5 on Si. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.