TaN gate electrodes for HfO2 gate dielectric were prepared using dc magnetron sputtering and compared with Pt gate electrode in terms of thermal stability at a post metal annealing (PMA) temperature of 900 degreesC for 1 min in N-2. The increase of nitrogen content in Ta1-xNx electrode produces an increase of resistivity and Ta0.463N0.537 electrodes showed a good thermal stability of resistivity even at an annealing temperature of 1000 degreesC for 1 min in N-2 ambient. TaN/HfO2 /Si capacitors showed superior properties to Pt/ HfO2 /Si capacitors in capacitance-voltage and current-voltage characteristics. TaN gate electrodes are suitable for application to high-k hafnium oxide gate dielectrics. (C) 2004 The Electrochemical Society.