The dc-current stress behavior ofMo/a-SiNxHy/Mothin-film diodes is discussed for severala-SiNxHy-plasma-deposition conditions. Current transport is governed by thermionic field emission of electrons over a reverse biased Schottky barrier. The barrier height is determined by thea-SiNxHy-plasma-deposition conditions. Therefore these back-to-back Schottky devices provide an elegant way to perform dc-current stressing at several well defined carrier densities for similar stress fields. It is shown that such experiments allow assessment of defect-state creation/anneal mechanisms ina-SiNxHy.An electron-trapping-triggered anneal mechanism accounts for the observed dependence of the defect density at the electrode injecting contact (cathode) on the hole-barrier height at the anode. Also a new microscopically detailed anneal reaction scheme is proposed. The defect-state creation/anneal mechanism is expected to be generally applicable for all silicon-rich hydrogenated amorphous silicon alloys. ©1997 American Institute of Physics.