Metastable effects in unintentionally doped GaN films grown on SiC substrates have been investigated using cathodoluminescence (CL). Memory effect patterns produced optically are observed in CL images. An electron beam can also produce memory effect patterns and the resulting changes in the luminescence spectra are quite similar for either optical or electron-beam-induced patterns. CL spectra reveal that the yellow luminescence at 2.2 eV increases significantly with little change in the band-edge emission in both cases. Samples that do not exhibit optically induced memory effects are also investigated and do not exhibit electron-beam-induced patterns, either. Monochromatic CL images at 540 and 365 nm confirm the similarity of optically and electron-beam-induced memory effects based on changes in luminescence spectra. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.