Doping of the nanocrystalline‐Si/SiO2composite material with tungsten results in a quenching of the ‘‘red’’ photoluminescence (PL) and an appearance of an intense blue/violet one with a spectral maximum around 2.8 eV and decay time of ≤3 ns. Unlike the green/blue PL from silanol groups, this PL is stable upon annealing and does not show any polarization memory. A possible mechanism of this PL is suggested. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.