La2O3 grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and thermally grown GeO2 are used to establish effective electrical surface passivations on n-type (1 0 0)-Ge substrates for high-k ZrO2 dielectrics, grown by ALD at 250 degrees C substrate temperature. The electrical characterization of MOS capacitors indicates an impact of the Ge-surface passivation on the interfacial trap density and the frequency dependent capacitance in the inversion regime. Lower interface trap densities can be obtained for GeO2 based passivation even though a chemical decomposition of the oxidation states occur during the ALD of ZrO2. As a consequence the formation of a ZrGeOx compound inside the ZrO2 matrix and a decline of the interfacial GeO2 are observed. The La2O3 passivation provides a stable amorphous lanthanum germanate phase at the Ge interface but also traces of Zr germanate are indicated by X-ray-Photoelectron-Spectroscopy and Transmission-Electron-Microscopy. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.