Hexagonal and cubic thin film ZnS:Mn electroluminescent phosphors are grown by halide transport chemical vapor deposition. Processing conditions, most notably introduction of a H2S ambient, lead to a change in the preferred orientation and phase of the polycrystalline thin film. In addition to the commonly reported growth along the closest packed plane [(111) for cubic crystal structure or (002) for hexagonal], thin films have been grown along the less dense cubic (311) direction. When grown in the (311) direction, the conduction charge of ZnS:Mn alternating-current, thin-film electroluminescent devices increases from 2.3 to 5.0 mu C/cm(2).