Metal-insulator-semiconductor and metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structures were fabricated by layer-by-layer adsorption of zirconium alkanediylbiphosphonates, Zr(O3PC(n)H2nPO3), n = 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, on silicon and gold surfaces. High frequency capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements showed accumulation and depletion regions for 5-20 layer films grown on p-type silicon. Plots of layer capacitance vs. inverse thickness were linear and gave film dielectric constants of approximately 4.0. Films of thickness 25-30 nm grown on gold surfaces were also pinhole free, as evidenced by C-V and current-voltage measurements. Anomalously high values of epsilon/epsilon(0) for gold-metal phosphonate-gold MIM structures indicated that the evaporated gold top contact penetrated the insulating thin film to some extent.