Electric field induced ion drift processes in alkali-borosilicate glasses play a key role in the silicon-glass or metal-glass compound formation in anodic bonding processes. By means of ex situ and in situ ion-beam analysis, which allows a quantitative depth profiling of different elements, the formation of anodic, alkali depleted glass layers and of oxygen enriched interface layers was investigated. Drift rates and depletion layer thicknesses were determined in dependence of the process temperature, bias, and drift time. The drift behavior of cations, including sodium, potassium, calcium, aluminum, and hydrogen, was examined. In addition, the drift of oxygen ions toward the compound interface was investigated. The absence of nonbridging oxygen in the investigated glass, verified by nuclear magnetic resonance investigations, gives rise to the conclusion that the drift behavior of oxygen ions depends mainly on the composition of the "leached" glass surface layer. The results confirm the anodic oxidation as the main mechanism responsible for the interface chemistry. The oxygen enrichment (oxidation) of the metal or silicon anode can be described by a reciprocal logarithmic equation.