The effects of HfOxNy on the electrical property of HfOxNy-HfO2-HfOxNy sandwich-stack (signed as SS) films were investigated. Excellent electrical performances were achieved in SS films, with a high dielectric constant of 16 and a low leakage current of similar to 2 x 10(-8) A/cm(2) at 1 MV/ cm. Schottky (SK) emission and Frenkel-Poole (PF) emission are found to be the dominant mechanisms for the current conduction behavior. After a long time stress, the flat-band voltage shift in the SS film is much smaller than that in a pure HfOxNy film indicating fewer charge traps existed in the SS film. Based on the experiments, the new SS structure is more favorable for the improvement of electrical performances than a pure HfOxNy or HfO2 structure. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.