Near-infrared-emitting electroluminescent (EL) devices using blue-light-emitting polymers blended with the Yb complexes Yb(DBM)(3)phen (DBM = dibenzoylmethane), Yb(DNM)(3)phen (DNM = dinaphthoylmethane), and Yb(TPP)L(OEt)(L(OEt)=[(C5H5)Co{P(O)Et-2}(3)](-)) have been studied. EL devices composed of Yb(DNM)(3)phen blended with PPP-OR11 showed enhanced near-IR output at 977 nm when compared to those fabricated with Yb(DNM)(3)phen/PPP-OR11 blends. The maximum near-IR external efficiencies of the devices with Yb(DBM)(3)phen and Yb(DNM)(3)phen are, respectively, 7 x 10(-5) (at 6 V and at 0.81 mA mm(-2)) and 4 x 10(-4) (at 7 V, and 0.74 mN mm(-2)). The optimal blend composition for EL device performance consisted of PPP-OR11 blended with 10-20 mol-% Yb(DNM)(3)phen. A device fabricated using Yb-(TPP)L(OEt)/PPP-OR11 showed significantly enhanced near IR output efficiency, and future efforts will focus on deviced fabricated using porphyrin-based materials.