The growth and characterization of zirconium oxide (ZrO2) thin films prepared by thermal oxidation of a deposited Zr metal layer on SiO2/Si were investigated. Uniform ZrO2 thin film with smooth surface morphology was obtained. The thermal ZrO2 films showed a polycrystalline structure. The dielectric constant of the ZrO2 film has been shown to be 23, and the equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) of the ZrO2 stacked oxide is in the range of 3.38-5.43 nm. MOS capacitors with ZrO2 dielectric stack show extremely low leakage current density, less than 10(-6) A/cm(2) at -4 V. Consequently, using this method, high-quality ZrO2 films could be fabricated at oxidation temperature as low as 600 degrees C. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.