Measurements of light emission are reported in the 1.1–2.5 eV energy range, by hot electrons in the In0.53Ga0.47As channel of a complementary charge injection transistor. By comparing electrical characteristics and light emission, there is the ability to identify the intraconduction band transitions as the main light emission mechanism. Hot‐electron effective temperatures up to 2200 K have been determined from high energy exponential tails of the electroluminescence spectra. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.