Photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectroscopy have been carried out on the ∼1550 nm4I13/2→4I15/2 Er3+emission from thin films of Er-dopedAs40Ge10Se25S25glass deposited on silicon substrates by radio frequency sputtering. The PLE spectroscopy shows that theEr3+emission is excited in the 1-&mgr;m-thick film by the Urbach absorption edge of the host glass rather than direct absorption by theEr3+intra-4fshell transitions. This enables the use of a broad range of pump wavelengths and novel pumping geometries. Comparison of the PLE spectra of the Er emission obtained before and after a rapid thermal anneal (RTA) clearly manifests a blue shift in the band gap induced by the RTA process. These results reveal that the broad band Er PLE mechanism discovered recently in Er-doped bulk chalcogenide glasses and attributed to host glass Urbach edge optical absorption and energy transfer mediated by native defects also occurs in sputtered films of Er-doped chalcogenide glass. ©1998 American Institute of Physics.