Thin films of CaWO4 and SrWO4 were prepared on glass substrates by spray pyrolysis. The effects of preparation conditions and monovalent, bivalent and trivalent cation doping on cathodoluminescence (CL) properties of the films were studied. Polycrystalline CaWO4 and SrWO4 films formed a scheelite structure after being annealed above 300degreesC. They exhibited analogous cathodoluminescence consisting of a blue emission band at 447 nm and a blue-green emission band at 487 nm. The blue and blue-green emission intensities increased with substrate and annealing temperature. Annealing atmosphere and doping with Ag+, Pb2+ and La3+ did not influence the characteristics of the blue and blue-green emissions, whereas Eu3+ did. The results indicated both the blue and blue-green emissions originated from the WO42- molecular complex. The luminance and efficiency for CaWO4 film were 150 cd/m(2) and 0.7 lm/W at 5 kV and 57 muA/cm(2). (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.