Thin stacks comprised of alternating layers of Ta2O5/HfO2, Ta2O5/ZrO2, and ZrO2/HfO2 were investigated as high-permittivity insulators for possible gate dielectric applications. These thin layers were deposited on silicon substrates using atomic layer deposition. Nanolaminates with silicon oxide equivalent thickness of about 2 nm had dielectric constants of around ten and leakage current densities at 1 MV/cm of around 10(-8) A/cm(2). Of the three kinds of nanolaminates investigated, ZrO2/HfO2 structures showed the highest breakdown field and the lowest leakage current.