Effects of ZnS:Mn/A1N multilayer structure on luminescent properties of nanostructured (NS) thin-film electroluminescent (TFEL) device of which emission layer is a multilayer composed with ZnS:Mn layers and 0.7-nm-thick A1N interlayers were studied. The bandgap widening and the increased PL efficiency of Mn2+ 3d-3d transitions with a decrease in the ZnS:Mn single-layer thickness down to 5 urn were observed, which is ascribed to quantum confinement effects. Meanwhile, the multilayer with 2-nm-thick ZnS:Mn single-layers shows a drop of PL efficiency, indicating the presence of defective region just on A1N. The tendency of the luminous efficiency of the NS-TFEL device against the ZnS:Mn single-layer thickness is similar to the tendency found in the PL efficiency, indicating the importance of the ZnS:Mn/A1N interface for the device performance. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.