Germanium based channels are interesting for high performance CMOS devices because of their high carrier mobility. In this study, the electrical properties of MgO on both GeSn and Ge MOS capacitors have been investigated. The low equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) of 2.1 nm for MgO on GeSn with a Ge cap layer indicates the high potential for MOSFET applications. A surface treatment prior to oxide deposition is found essential to reduce the gate leakage. It is shown that HCl and H2O2 dipping followed by ozone treatment improves the leakage and leads to good capacitance-voltage (C-V) behavior. (C) 2013 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.