Lanthana (La2O3) thin films were grown by atomic layer deposition using the homoleptic amino precursor La[N(TMS)(2)](3). This volatile metal-organic was synthesized on a large scale using commercially available lanthanum triflate (La(OTf)3) and the amino was recovered in excellent yields and high analytical purity. La2O3 thin films (similar to 25 nm) were grown on p-type (1 0 0) silicon substrates using a hot-wall ALD reactor at 300 degrees C and exhibit smooth, featureless surfaces with rms roughnesses of 2.5 nm. PXRD indicates that the existing lanthana crystallites can be indexed in the hexagonal system. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.