Emission of bright (over 9 cd/m2) violet light centered at 404 nm has been achieved from SrS:Eu thin‐film electroluminescent (EL) devices. The brightness has remained stable after several hours of operation. The source of this light is believed to be the 5d–4ftransition of Eu2+in the SrCl2host, which is formed near the ZnS/SrS interfaces within the sandwich structure of the EL devices. Similar device structures were also utilized to produce ultraviolet EL emission at 367 nm from SrCl2:Ce3+layers. These devices were grown via atomic layer epitaxy. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.