SiC films doped with aluminum (Al) were prepared by the rf-magnetron sputtering technique on p-Si substrates with a composite target of a single crystalline SiC containing several Al pieces on the surface. The as-deposited films were annealed in the temperature range of 400-800 degrees C under nitrogen ambient. The thin films have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that the introduction of Al into films hinders crystalline formation process. And with the increase of annealing temperature, more Si particles are formed in the films, which strongly affect the optical absorption properties. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the samples show two peaks at 370 nm and 412 nm. The intensities of the PL peaks are evidently improved after Al doped. We attribute the origin of the two PL peaks to a kind of Si-related defect centres. The obtained results are expected to have important applications in modem optoelectronic devices. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.