In one example of the invention, a method for depositing a tantalum-containing material on a substrate in a process chamber is provided which includes exposing the substrate to a tantalum precursor that contains TAIMATA and to at least one secondary precursor to deposit a tantalum-containing film during an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process. The ALD process is repeated until the tantalum-containing film is deposited with a predetermined thickness. Usually, the TAIMATA is preheated prior pulsing the tantalum precursor into the process chamber. A metal layer, such as tungsten or copper, may be deposited on the tantalum-containing material. The tantalum-containing material may include tantalum, tantalum nitride, tantalum silicon nitride, tantalum boron nitride, tantalum phosphorous nitride or tantalum oxynitride. The tantalum-containing material may be deposited as a barrier or adhesion layer within a via or as a gate electrode material within a source/drain device.