A dielectric film containing zirconium-doped tantalum oxide arranged as a structure of one or more monolayers and a method of fabricating such a dielectric film produce a reliable dielectric layer for use in a variety of electronic devices. In an embodiment, a zirconium-doped tantalum oxide dielectric layer may be formed by depositing tantalum by atomic layer deposition onto a substrate surface and depositing a zirconium dopant by atomic layer deposition onto the substrate surface.