Apparatus having a dielectric containing scandium and gadolinium can provide a reliable structure with a high dielectric constant (high k). In an embodiment, a monolayer or partial monolayer sequence process, such as for example atomic layer deposition (ALD), can be used to form a dielectric containing gadolinium oxide and scandium oxide. In an embodiment, a dielectric structure can be formed by depositing gadolinium oxide by atomic layer deposition onto a substrate surface using precursor chemicals, followed by depositing scandium oxide onto the substrate using precursor chemicals, and repeating to form a thin laminate structure. A dielectric containing scandium and gadolinium may be used as gate insulator of a MOSFET, a capacitor dielectric in a DRAM, as tunnel gate insulators in flash memories, as a NROM dielectric, or as a dielectric in other electronic devices, because the high dielectric constant (high k) of the film provides the functionality of a much thinner silicon dioxide film.