In this work we present the fabrication and operation of incandescent microlamps that emit white and infrared light from a chromium resistor embedded in a free-standing silicon oxynitride (SiOxNy) cantilever. In fact, the chromium resistor is sandwiched between layers of SiO xNy that isolates it from the atmosphere, while electric current heats the resistor to incandescent temperatures. Front-side bulk micromachining of the silicon substrate in potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution is used to fabricate the cantilevers that thermally isolate the resistors from the substrate, thus reducing the heat transfer and the current required to light the lamp. Different microlamp geometries were investigated in order to study the power consumption and light emission of the chromium filament. The chromium resistor was embedded in a SiOxNy film deposited by the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technique in order to avoid the oxidation and premature break of the incandescent microlamp. Also, this material is transparent in the visible and near infrared region and it is mechanically and structurally stable with low residual stress and small etch rates in KOH solutions, which makes totally appropriate for the fabrication of self-sustained cantilevers on silicon substrate. © 2008 American Institute of Physics.