Europium doped yttrium oxide (Y2O3:Eu) luminescent thin films were grown on Si(0 0 1) substrates using a pulsed laser deposition technique and their microstructures and growth behavior were investigated by synchrotron X-ray scattering and atomic force microscopy. We observed that the surface morphology of the Y2O3:Eu films was very smooth with typically a 0.5-nm root mean square roughness for the films up to 750 run in thickness and the film strain increased gradually with film thickness. suggesting that the Y2O3:Eu films are grown with a layer-like growth mode. Grown with the (I 1 1) preferred orientation. the Y2O3:Eu films significantly improved in crystallinity with film thickness, showing a characteristic red luminescence Of Y2O3:Eu materials. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.