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Er-doped Si-rich SiO2 (SRSO:Er) films have been deposited on n(+)-Si substrates by the magnetron sputtering technique, and both photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) at 1.54 mum have been observed from the films at room temperature. Dependence of pi, and EL intensities on the excess-Si content and annealing temperature has been studied. It is found that proper Si content and annealing temperature can evidently enhance EL intensity. An SRSO:Er film with 20% excess Si (area ratio of the Si target to the whole target) had more intense EL than a SiO2:Er film without excess Si, both annealed at 800 degreesC, by a factor of 5. This fact clearly demonstrates that energy coupling between Si nanometer particles and Er3+ ions also exists in the EL process as well as in the PL process. Experimental results also indicate that crystallization is not a prerequisite for NSPs enhancing luminescence in SRSO:Er films. The PL and EL spectra of the SRSO:Er films have much broader full widths at half maximum (FWHM, similar to 60 nm) than those of the other Er-doped materials reported. This wide FWHM can perhaps be used in wavelength division multiplexing in optical communication in future. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.