The charge behavior of dielectric films on silicon is particularly important in device and integrated circuit technology because of surface effects. Models for ionic migration, fixed-interface charge, and injection trapping are reviewed for insulators used in silicon technology: thermally-grown silicon dioxide and chemical vapor-deposited silicon dioxide and silicon nitride. The distinctive characteristics of insulator charge related to these mechanisms are applied in the case of reactively sputteredSiO2andTa2O5. Ion migration and injection-trapping behavior are found under certain conditions of preparation for both materials. A degree of interface charge control is indicated in the study of sputtered silicon dioxide. More work is needed to establish the future utility of these materials.