Tb3+-doped lutetium oxyorthosilicate (Tb:Lu2SiO5, LSO) films have been successfully fabricated on carefully cleaned silicon (1 1 1) substrates by Pechini sol-gel method combined with the spin-coating technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL) spectra and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were employed to characterize the resultant films. XRD patterns indicated that the films were crystallized into A-type LSO phase at 1000 degrees C, followed by a phase transition from A-type LSO to B-type LSO occurred at 1100 degrees C. The AFM observation revealed that the phosphor films were uniform and crack-free, consisting of closely packed grains with an average size of 200-300 nm. The PL spectra showed the characteristic emission D-5(4) -> F-7(J) (J = 3-6) for Tb3+, The lifetime of Tb3+ in Tb:LSO films was 2.33 ms. The effect of heat-treatment temperature on the luminescent properties was also investigated. (C) 2011 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.