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We have employed plasma-enhanced and thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD) within the temperature range of 50–150 C for the deposition of ultra-thin (10–50 nm) Al 2 O 3 films on 100Cr6 steel and aluminium Al2024-T3 alloys.[Al (CH 3) 3] was used as the precursor with either an O 2 plasma or water as co-reactants. Neutral salt spray tests showed that the thicker films offered the best corrosion-resistance. Using cyclic voltametry, the 50 nm films were found to be the least porous (< 0.5%). For 10 nm thick films, plasma-enhanced ALD afforded a lower porosity and higher film density than thermal ALD. ToF-SIMS measurements on 100Cr6 showed that the main'bulk'of the films contained very few impurities, but OH and C were observed at the interfaces. TEM confirmed that the films were conformal on all substrates and the adhesion was excellent for the films deposited by plasma-enhanced ALD but not for thermal …