A ZnS:Cu electroluminescent (EL) device was fabricated by sputtering and its luminescence properties were examined. The structure of the fabricated device was glass/SixNy/ZnS phosphor/SixNy/Al. The luminescence spectrum of the device showed two peaks, one blue and the other yellow. The blue peak is created by excitation and recombination of Cu atoms, and can be used for creating blue EL devices. (C) 1998 Chapman & Hall.