An electrical contact structure (an MIS contact) includes one or more conductors (M-Layer), a semiconductor (S-Layer), and an interfacial dielectric layer (I-Layer) of less than 4 nm thickness disposed between and in contact with both the M-Layer and the S-Layer. The I-Layer is an oxide of a metal or a semiconductor. The conductor of the M-Layer that is adjacent to and in direct contact with the I-Layer is a metal oxide that is electrically conductive, chemically stable and unreactive at its interface with the I-Layer at temperatures up to 450° C. The electrical contact structure has a specific contact resistivity of less than or equal to approximately 10−5-10−7 Ω-cm2 when the doping in the semiconductor adjacent the MIS contact is greater than approximately 2×1019 cm−3 and less than approximately 10−8 Ω-cm2 when the doping in the semiconductor adjacent the MIS contact is greater than approximately 1020 cm−3.