Eu-doped GaN powder is produced by a high-yield and low-cost method. The effect of growth temperature between 950 and 1030 degrees C on Eu effective incorporation and luminescence was investigated by photoluminescence, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. The effective Eu concentration was extracted non-destructively by strain analysis of the correlated Raman and XRD data. A clear correlation between Eu incorporation and luminescence intensity was observed. The optimum Eu incorporation of 0.5 at% was obtained at 1000 degrees C. Samples grown at this temperature also displayed the best crystallinity. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.