The metalorganic chemical vapor deposition of aluminum oxide has been studied over a wide process parameter range. Electrical properties of as-grown and annealed layers have been investigated using planar aluminum/aluminum oxide/silicon capacitors. The best processing conditions resulted in a leakage current of 10 nA/cm(2) at an equivalent oxide thickness of 3.6 nm. In addition, the film conformality was evaluated on silicon trench structures with aspect ratios of up to 60. Excellent step coverage of over 90% (thickness at trench bottom to thickness at trench middle) was achieved at temperatures below 400 degrees C and a pressure of 100 Pa. After annealing the electrical properties of these layers, analyzed on planar test structures, were comparable to the results obtained at higher deposition temperature. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.