Titania films, doped with erbium, were fabricated on porous anodic alumina from a Ti(OC2H5)(4) precursor. The samples, subjected to thermal processing up to 1270 K, exhibited strong luminescence at 1.53 mum associated with I-4(13/2)->I-4(15/2) transitions of Er3+ ions in the TiO2 xerogel. The intensity of photoluminescence increased with the number of xerogel film depositions onto alumina. Secondary ion mass spectrometry analyses show that the pores of anodic alumina are filled by the xerogel after sequential spinning of ten layers. Cooling of the samples to 4.2 K gives enhancement of the intensity of the Er-related band at 1.53 mum and narrowing of the full width at half maximum from 20 to 10 nm. (C) 2001 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.