Abstract: A high field capacitor structure includes an insulating layer having a carrier trapping region between two electrodes. The trapping region improves electric breakdown characteristics of the capacitor structure and is particularly useful in avoiding the low breakdown voltages and high leakage currents normally encountered in structures with asperities, such as SiO.sub.2 over poly Si. The trapping region can be formed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, by evaporation or by ion implantation. The trapping region is close to the Si, but far enough away to eliminate the possibility of reverse tunneling from discharging the traps in the absence of an applied voltage.