Book excerpt: This volume is intended to serve as an updated critical guide to the extensive literature on the basic physical mechanisms controlling the radiation and reliability responses of MOS oxides. The last such guide was Ionizing Radiation Effects in MOS Devices and Circuits, edited by Ma and Dressendorfer and published in 1989. While that book remains an authoritative reference in many areas, there has been a significant amount of more recent work on the nature of the electrically active defects in MOS oxides which are generated by exposure to ionizing radiation. These same defects are also critical in many other areas of oxide reliability research. As a result of this work, the understanding of the basic physical mechanisms has evolved. This book summarizes the new work and integrates it with older work to form a coherent, unified picture. It is aimed primarily at specialists working on radiation effects and oxide reliability.