Research programs explore the chemical vapor deposition growth chemistry of silicon-germanium and compound semiconductor crystalline thin films, silicon and germanium quantum dots on dielectric surfaces, and multimetallic nitride and carbide barrier films. The silicon-germanium alloy studies seek to establish a first principles description of the growth kinetics and address the question of how local structure and surface order versus long range electronic effects alter the thin film growth kinetics. Current attention is focussed on the dynamic state of the growth surface, using surface science probes and nonlinear optical spectroscopy, as a function of Ge concentration, H ad-atoms and dopants. The research on compound semiconductor materials and film growth investigates pathways and sites for organometallic precursor adsorption and ligand removal to provide the film grower with a framework for anticipating likely reactions during growth and the synthetic chemist with a basis for designing specific ligands into a precursor. The quantum dot program investigates nucleation and particle growth kinetics and seeks to develop methods to manipulate the density and size uniformity of the quantum dots Multimetallic barrier film work is developing a metalorganic chemical vapor deposition process for the thin films that have potential for copper diffusion barriers.