Epitaxial neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum perovskite (Nd : YAlO3) has been grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on R-plane sapphire at 985 degrees C. The substrates were annealed in air at 1150 degrees C to generate atomically ordered surfaces. Structural and optical characterization was performed using X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence. Emission spectra identical to that from bulk crystalline Nd : YAlO3 were obtained. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.