Abstract
Recent research on point defects in thin films of silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, and silicon oxynitride on Si is presented and reviewed. In 
, it now clear that no one type of E' center is the sole source of radiation‐induced positive charge; hydrogenous moieties or other types of E' are proposed. Molecular orbital theory and easy passivation of E' by 
suggest that released H might depassivate interface 
sites. A charged 
center has been seen in Cl‐free SIMOX (separation by implantation of oxygen) and thermal oxide films, and it is reassigned to an electron delocalized over four 
units around a fifth Si. In 
, a new model for the amphoteric charging of 
moieties is based on local shifts in defect energy with respect to the Fermi level, arising from nonuniform composition; it does not assume negative U electron correlation. A new defect 
has been identified, with dangling orbital on a two‐coordinated N atom bonded to another N. Silicon oxynitride defects are briefly presented.