Cerium-doped Gd2SiO5 (GSO:Ce) films have been prepared on (1 1 1) silicon substrates by the sol-gel technique. Annealing was performed in the temperature range from 400 to 1000 degrees C. X-ray diffraction (XRD), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to investigate the structure and morphology of GSO:Ce films. Results showed that GSO:Ce film starts to crystallize at about 600 degrees C, GSO:Ce films have a preferential (0 2 1) orientation, as the annealing temperature increase, the (0 2 1) peak intensity increases, the full width of half maximum (FWHM) decreases, and the grain size of GSO: Ce films increases. Emission spectra of GSO: Ce films were measured, results exhibit the characteristic blue emission peak at 427 nm. (C) 2008 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.