In the present time the interest in II-VI semiconductors doped with rare-earth elements (REE) is growing because of Q-switching possibility in Er-Yb lasers with saturated elements on the ZnSe:Cr2+ basis [1,2]. At the same time possibility of near-IR LED production stimulates research on semiconductor materials doped with REE luminescent properties. However, efficient n-IR irradiation in this case requires good understanding of REE-centers excitation mechanisms and practical methods to control excitation of such centers [3]. Regardless a long period of REE-ions research in II-VI semiconductors there’s no sufficient information about influence of the Yb ions concentration on electronic and irradiative processes in the wide band-gap materials. Studied ZnSe samples were grown by chemical vapor transport method using iodine as the transportation agent. The crystals were doped with ytterbium during the growth process (concentration varied within 0,0 at. % to 0,3 at. % Yb interval). The concentration of the doping impurity corresponds to the impurity concentration in the source material. Photoluminescence (PL) was excited with pulsed nitrogen laser emission (wavelength 337,1 nm). The dependence of the zinc selenide edge band PL intensity on the ytterbium concentration is presented in Fig.1 (a). The PL intensity on concentration curve (inset) has one maximum near the 0.03 at. % Yb concentration. It may be presupposed that observed effect is caused by binding of the background impurities by ytterbium and as a result formation of optical passive centres, which leads to increase of the edge band PL intensity at the low Yb concentrations. The long-wavelength PL spectrum is presented by one large band (Fig.1b). Doping with Yb leads to reallocation of the bands maximum. It may be presupposed, that the observed band is complex and doping with Yb causes appearance of an additional elementary band within it.figureFig. 1. Visible PL spectra of ZnSe:Yb versus doping impurity concentration, T=77K. Inset: PL band intensity versus Yb concentration [1] V. Philippov et al. Proc. SPIE 5335, 8, 2004; doi:10.1117/12.524767 [2] S. Zhang, F. Lu, J. Wang. Optics Communications, 263, 2006. pp. 47-51 [3] H. Przybylinska et al. Phys. Rev. B, 40 (3), 1989, pp.1748-1755 This work was supported by Academy of Science of Moldova grant 11.817.05.11F