The temperature dependence of the creation and the passivation of interface traps in irradiated n-channel MOSFETs during annealing has been investigated. The obtained results show that the creation process is directly related to the neutralization of the positive oxide trapped charge, and that hydrogen atoms (ions) and water molecules are directly responsible for the creation process and for the passivation process, respectively. A combined hydrogen-water (H-W) model which explains the experimental results is proposed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.