The present book collects a broad overview of chemical and physical char- acteristics of silicon oxynitrides. Special emphasis is put on the way in which these properties influence the electrical characteristics and behaviour of this important material. The results presented here were obtained in an ex- tended European research cooperation in the framework of ESPRIT Project 369 'Physical-chemical characterization of silicon oxynitrides in relation to their electrical properties', which ran from 1984 to 1988. In this project two industrial laboratories (Philips Research Laborato- ries in...