The cathodoluminescence (CL) of erbium and oxygen coimplanted GaN (GaN:Er:O) and sapphire (sapphire:Er:O) was studied as a function of temperature. Following annealing, the 1.54 &mgr;m intra‐4f‐shell emission line was observed in the temperature range of 6–380 K. As the temperature increased from 6 K to room temperature, the integrated intensity of the infrared peak decreased by less than 5% for GaN:Er:O, while it decreased by 18% for sapphire:Er:O. The observation of minimal thermal quenching by CL suggests that Er and O doped GaN is a promising material for electrically pumped room‐temperature optical devices emitting at 1.54 &mgr;m. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.