Multicolor photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) were observed from developed Bi- and rare earth (RE)-co-doped La2O3 (La2O3:Bi,RE) phosphor thin films. The phosphor thin films were prepared with various contents of co-doped RE, such as Dy, Er, Eu,Tb and Tm, by a combinatorial radio frequency magnetron sputtering deposition method. The obtainable luminance in EL and PL intensities changed considerably as the kind and content of RE were varied. Color changes from blue and blue-green to various colors in PL and EL emissions, respectively, were obtained in postannealed La2O3:Bi,RE phosphor thin films: films prepared by co-doping Bi at a constant content with various REs at varying levels of content. However, all of the observed emission peaks in PL and EL from La2O3:Bi,RE phosphor thin films were assigned to either the broad emission originating from the transition in Bi3+ or the visible emission peaks originating from the transition in the co-doped trivalent RE ion. The difference between PL and EL characteristics in La2O3:Bi,RE phosphor thin films is mainly attributed to the difference in the excitation mechanism. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.