(Y,Gd)BO3:Eu3+ and Y(V,P)O-4:Eu3+ thin-film phosphors were deposited on conventional and corrugated substrates to test their applicability for use in transparent plasma display panels (PDPs). The exact target structure and stoichiometry of Y(V,P)O-4:Eu3+ and (Y,Gd)BO3:Eu3+ transferred well to the single-phase film by optimizing the deposition conditions. The corrugated substrates consisting of nanorod-type two-dimensional photonic crystal layers enhanced the photoluminescence efficiency, albeit at the expense of transparency. We employed the fact that conventional PDPs would adopt a mixture powder of (Y,Gd)BO3:Eu3+ and Y(V,P)O-4:Eu3+ as a compromise between luminance and color chromaticity. To achieve this compromise in a thin-film state, we prepared a sandwich-type thin film using (Y,Gd)BO3:Eu3+ and Y(V,P)O-4:Eu3+ phosphors. (C) 2009 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI:10.1149/1.3207015] All rights reserved.