Overview

General comment

Mid-power surface mount white LED in 3528 (PLCC-2) package. Widely used in linear lighting, backlighting, and signage. Lower power than 3535 but higher volume due to lower cost.

Technology: Standard manufacturing process
Geography: Global average data from equipment vendor specifications and industry literature

System boundary

The figure groups this dataset's unit processes by class. It is not a count of manufacturing steps — each process runs over as many passes as the flow requires, and those pass counts ship with the dataset.

Download this figure (SVG)

Data quality and references

Composite DQI 1.8 Very good

Reliability

3.2

Completeness

2.2

Temporal

1.5

Geographic

2.0

Technological

1.0

Pedigree scores follow the ecoinvent data-quality matrix: 1 is the best attainable, 5 the weakest. The composite is their aggregate.

Sampling procedure: Component vendor specifications, academic papers, industry literature
Coverage status: Partial
Pedigree-scored source files: 6 — the source records behind this dataset's manufacturing operations. Each carries the five pedigree axes above; the composite DQI aggregates them.

Technosphere inputs

16 flows. Quantities are not published; they ship with the dataset on Circa.

100mm GaN LED on Sapphire REEL datasetwafer

Derivation basis: Calculated by the manufacturing model. The linked REEL dataset carries the upstream life cycle sources.

No source is attached to this row.
Source citations: Not stated
Upstream REEL dataset: LED GaN 100mm wafer, 100mm, China
Background dataset: Modelled by REEL; see the upstream dataset above.
Notes: Yield-adjusted wafer fraction; carries the suppressed wafer-fab elementary flows
Uncertainty: No range defined.
Unit: wafer

CF₄ production Process gasg · -49.2% / +69.5%

Derivation basis: No retrievable public document identified

No source is attached to this row.
Source citations: Not stated
Upstream REEL dataset: Carbon tetrafluoride (CF4)
Background dataset: Modelled by REEL; see the upstream dataset above.
Uncertainty: -49.2% / +69.5% around the published quantity. The bounds themselves ship with the dataset on Circa.
Unit: g

SF₆ production Process gasg · -49% / +53%

Derivation basis: No retrievable public document identified

No source is attached to this row.
Source citations: Not stated
Upstream REEL dataset: Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)
Background dataset: Modelled by REEL; see the upstream dataset above.
Uncertainty: -49% / +53% around the published quantity. The bounds themselves ship with the dataset on Circa.
Unit: g

Aluminium oxide Materialkg

Derivation basis: Calculated from per-operation consumption, operation counts, and manufacturing yield.

The sources for this row are listed below.
Source citations (dataset-level): DOE SSL Manufacturing Roadmap 2020
Kingbright LED datasheets
Background data: proxy-mapped
Background dataset: aluminium oxide, metallurgical
Uncertainty: No range defined.
Unit: kg

Gold Materialkg

Derivation basis: Calculated from per-operation consumption, operation counts, and manufacturing yield.

The sources for this row are listed below.
Source citations (dataset-level): DOE SSL Manufacturing Roadmap 2020
Kingbright LED datasheets
Background data: ecoinvent 3.12
Background dataset: gold
Uncertainty: No range defined.
Unit: kg

Copper Materialkg

Derivation basis: Calculated from per-operation consumption, operation counts, and manufacturing yield.

The sources for this row are listed below.
Source citations (dataset-level): DOE SSL Manufacturing Roadmap 2020
Kingbright LED datasheets
Background data: ecoinvent 3.12
Background dataset: copper, cathode
Uncertainty: No range defined.
Unit: kg

Silver Materialkg · -7.2% / +50%

Derivation basis: Calculated from per-operation consumption, operation counts, and manufacturing yield.

The sources for this row are listed below.
Source citations (dataset-level): DOE SSL Manufacturing Roadmap 2020
Kingbright LED datasheets
Background data: ecoinvent 3.12
Background dataset: silver
Uncertainty: -7.2% / +50% around the published quantity. The bounds themselves ship with the dataset on Circa.
Unit: kg

Epoxy resin, liquid Materialkg · -7.2% / +50%

Derivation basis: Calculated from per-operation consumption, operation counts, and manufacturing yield.

The sources for this row are listed below.
Source citations (dataset-level): DOE SSL Manufacturing Roadmap 2020
Kingbright LED datasheets
Background data: ecoinvent 3.12
Background dataset: epoxy resin, liquid
Uncertainty: -7.2% / +50% around the published quantity. The bounds themselves ship with the dataset on Circa.
Unit: kg

Yttrium oxide Materialkg

Derivation basis: The cerium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet phosphor is represented by its two oxide precursors, yttrium oxide and aluminium oxide, in the proportions of the garnet formula the model declares. Firing those oxides into the garnet, and the cerium dopant itself, are not represented.

The sources for this row are listed below.
Source citations (dataset-level): DOE SSL Manufacturing Roadmap 2020
Kingbright LED datasheets
Background data: ecoinvent 3.12
Background dataset: yttrium oxide
Uncertainty: No range defined.
Unit: kg

Silicone product Materialkg

Derivation basis: Calculated from per-operation consumption, operation counts, and manufacturing yield.

The sources for this row are listed below.
Source citations (dataset-level): DOE SSL Manufacturing Roadmap 2020
Kingbright LED datasheets
Background data: ecoinvent 3.12
Background dataset: silicone product
Uncertainty: No range defined.
Unit: kg

Wafer transport, CN fab to packaging site - Road Freight transporttkm · -100% / +60%

Derivation basis: Specified for this manufacturing operation and scaled to the dataset's functional unit.

No source is attached to this row.
Source citations: Not stated
Background data: ecoinvent 3.12
Background dataset: transport, freight, lorry, unspecified
Notes: Freight for the part-finished product moving between REEL-modelled sites: the wafer fraction this dataset consumes, travelling from light-emitting-diode epitaxy fab to domestic packaging site. Shipped mass is that wafer fraction times the wafer mass implied by the diameter, thickness and substrate its own model declares, times a shipping-packaging factor covering the returnable wafer shipping box and its secondary carton. No published container mass was found for a wafer of this diameter, so the factor carried here is the one derived for the largest diameter in this database rather than one derived for this one. The two diameters that do have a measured carrier show the factor rising as the wafer gets smaller, because a box's own mass does not fall in proportion to the wafer material it holds, so this leg's shipped mass is more likely to be understated than overstated; the packaging production burden is excluded as returnable, while its mass is carried because freight scales with what is actually shipped. Road freight is allocated on actual shipped mass, and the mapped road market already includes carrier empty returns; the central therefore has no return uplift. The authored band uses the route-class distance envelope, and its upper endpoint also adds the separate reusable-carrier return service. The route itself is a declared proxy: the route evidence rates this domestic fab to packaging pair no better than low to medium and lists this vendor's wafer routing among the entries not to be authored without a proxy note, so one vendor's own short domestic move stands in for the class rather than describing a journey confirmed for this dataset.
Uncertainty: -100% / +60% around the published quantity. The bounds themselves ship with the dataset on Circa.
Unit: tkm — tonne-kilometres, a transport effort rather than a mass

Electricity, China (CN) ElectricitykWh · -23.7% / +48.1%

Derivation basis: Calculated from equipment energy across all manufacturing operations, plus facility support such as cleanroom HVAC, ultrapure water, cooling, gas abatement, and bulk gases.

The sources below come from the manufacturing operations behind this row.
Sources (inherited): Inherited, rolled up from the contributing process steps:

Disco Corporation DFD6361 dicing saw specifications (blade-dicing process power and wafer throughput)

Hu et al. (2019). Analysis of energy efficiency improvement of high-tech fabrication plants. International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies. DOI: 10.1093/ijlct/ctz041.

Guste, Marinas & Ong, Machines 12 (2024) 467, Table 3; Besi Datacon 2200 evo product page

sst.semiconductor-digest.com (date not recorded). Semiconductor Digest - Package-on-package (PoP) with Through-mold Vias (2008). Trade press article.

directindustry.com (date not recorded). DirectIndustry - Kulicke & Soffa IConn (ProCu) PLUS wire bonder listing (1.5 kVA nominal / 2.6 kVA max).

c2mi.ca (date not recorded). C2MI - IConn ProCu Plus LA equipment listing.

electronicspecifier.com (date not recorded). electronicspecifier - ASMPT unveils latest wire bonder (Eagle AERO, up to 24 2-mm connections/s), 26 Sep 2022. Trade press article.
Background data: ecoinvent 3.12
Background dataset: electricity, medium voltage
Notes: package-level only; wafer-fab electricity carried by the wafer reference. The uncertainty range is the pre-split range scaled by the same package share, not a range derived for the package step on its own
Uncertainty: -23.7% / +48.1% around the published quantity. The bounds themselves ship with the dataset on Circa.
Unit: kWh

N₂ Process gasg · ±7.9%

Source citations: DOE/PNNL PNNL-21443 Table 5-6
uwaterloo.ca (date not recorded). A. Pequegnat, J. Persic, M. Mayer, Y. Zhou, J. Hong, K. Ahn, "Effect of gas type and flow rate on Cu free air ball formation in thermosonic wire bonding", Microelectronics Reliability 51 (2011) 43-52, doi 10.1016/j.microrel.2010.02.023. PDF document.
Alfred Yeung, Ivy Sutiono, Jochen Milke (Heraeus Materials Technology), "Optimization of Free Air Ball Formation of Copper and Palladium Coated Copper Bonding Wires", Proceedings of IMAPS 2010, 43rd International Symposium on Microelectronics, pp. 000661 ff
Background data: ecoinvent 3.12
Background dataset: nitrogen, liquid
Notes: package-level remainder; wafer-allocated share carried by the wafer reference. The uncertainty range is the pre-subtraction range scaled by the remaining share, not a range derived for the remainder on its own
Uncertainty: ±7.9% around the published quantity. The bounds themselves ship with the dataset on Circa.
Unit: g

Compressed air Process gasg · -34.1% / +43.5%

Source citations: CAE Online: Teradyne Catalyst Specifications
EE Journal: "Advantest Unveils New Ultra-High-Current Power Supply" (2024)
4Semi: TEL Precio Wafer Prober Specifications
FormFactor Summit 11000/12000 Facility Planning Guide
3D InCites: "ERS Electronic Introduces High Power Dissipation Thermal Chuck" (2023)
Abachy: "How Much Energy and Water Are Required for Wafer Fabrication" (2025)
Background data: ecoinvent 3.12
Background dataset: compressed air, 700 kPa gauge
Notes: package-level remainder; wafer-allocated share carried by the wafer reference. The uncertainty range is the pre-subtraction range scaled by the remaining share, not a range derived for the remainder on its own
Uncertainty: -34.1% / +43.5% around the published quantity. The bounds themselves ship with the dataset on Circa.
Unit: g

Compressed air (tool) Process gasg · -33.3% / +66.7%

Derivation basis: Calculated from per-operation consumption, operation counts, and manufacturing yield.

No source is attached to this row.
Source citations: Not stated
Background data: ecoinvent 3.12
Background dataset: compressed air, 700 kPa gauge
Uncertainty: -33.3% / +66.7% around the published quantity. The bounds themselves ship with the dataset on Circa.
Unit: g

Capillary underfill (epoxy) Process chemicalg · -33.3% / +50%

Derivation basis: Calculated from per-operation consumption, operation counts, and manufacturing yield.

No source is attached to this row.
Source citations: Not stated
Background data: ecoinvent 3.12
Background dataset: epoxy resin insulator, SiO2
Uncertainty: -33.3% / +50% around the published quantity. The bounds themselves ship with the dataset on Circa.
Unit: g

Outputs and waste

Sapphire/GaN dicing residue Solid wasteg · ±25%

Source citations: Semiconductor Digest, reported blade-dicing kerf width
Background data: ecoinvent 3.12 treatment route
Background dataset: treatment of inert waste, sanitary landfill
Uncertainty: ±25% around the published quantity. The bounds themselves ship with the dataset on Circa.
Unit: g

Sapphire/GaN dicing filter cake Solid wasteg

Source citations: p2infohouse.org (date not recorded). Florida Pollution Prevention Program - Electroplating Tip Sheet: Drag-Out Reduction (2000). Report.
p2infohouse.org (date not recorded). Florida Pollution Prevention Program - Electroplating Tip Sheet: Rinse Water Reduction (2000). Report.
Park et al. - Effects of the degradation of methane sulfonic acid electrolyte on the collapse failure of Sn-Ag alloy solders for flip-chip interconnections, RSC Advances, 2017
Background data: ecoinvent 3.12 treatment route
Background dataset: treatment of inert waste, sanitary landfill
Uncertainty: No range defined.
Unit: g

Uncured Ag-filled die-attach epoxy (dispense loss) Solid wasteg · -72.2% / +500%

Source citations: seipi.org.ph (date not recorded). Amalin, M.S. (STMicroelectronics Calamba), "Challenging the Process and Material Characteristic to Address the High Epoxy Usage/Consumption of VI Power Packages", 32nd ASEMEP National Technical Symposium. Symposium paper.
musashi-engineering.de (date not recorded). Musashi Engineering, "SuperSigma CM IV" fully digital controlled dispenser catalogue, CAT. No.SuperSigmaCMIV-12231-E-COPY (Nov 2023). Vendor catalogue.
irjaes.com (date not recorded). Capili, M.D. (STMicroelectronics Calamba), "Comparative Analysis for Die Attach Dispensing Methods", Int. Research Journal of Advanced Engineering and Science, Vol.4 Issue 4, pp.170-172, 2019. PDF document.
datasheets.tdx.henkel.com (date not recorded). Henkel, LOCTITE ABLESTIK 84-1LMI Technical Data Sheet, Oct 2014. Technical data sheet.
datasheets.tdx.henkel.com (date not recorded). Henkel, LOCTITE ABLESTIK ABP 2025DNP Technical Data Sheet, Jan 2025. Technical data sheet.
seipi.org.ph (date not recorded). Cantos, Lopez & Wagan (STMicroelectronics Calamba OPS2), "A Six Sigma Approach to Address High PPM at Die Attach Due to Epoxy Related Rejects", 34th ASEMEP National Technical Symposium. Symposium paper.
Machine Capability Enhancement to Address Lacking Epoxy Coverage During Die Attach Process of QFN Packages", J. Engineering Research and Reports ms JERR_88623, publisher-hosted preprint (UNDER PEER REVIEW watermark)
seipi.org.ph (date not recorded). Villarico, De La Rosa & Cuchapin (Texas Instruments Philippines, Baguio), "Automated Dispense Nozzle Cleaning Machine: TI Inside", 31st ASEMEP National Technical Symposium. Symposium paper.
mm.digikey.com (date not recorded). Henkel, SDS LOCTITE ABLESTIK 2902-R (TRA-DUCT 2902-R), issue 11/11/2019. Safety data sheet.
caplinq.com (date not recorded). Henkel, SDS LOCTITE ABLESTIK 3888 TPK, SDS No. 542703 V003.0, revision 17.04.2020 (Caplinq-hosted). Safety data sheet.
Background data: ecoinvent 3.12 treatment route
Background dataset: market for precious metal from electronics scrap, in anode slime
Uncertainty: -72.2% / +500% around the published quantity. The bounds themselves ship with the dataset on Circa.
Unit: g

Emissions to air

2 elementary flows released to air by this dataset's own operations. Quantities are not published; they ship with the dataset on Circa.

VOCs (from epoxy cure) Emission to airg

Source citations: etd.gsfc.nasa.gov (date not recorded). NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Engineering and Technology Directorate, "Outgassing Data for Selecting Spacecraft Materials" online database, complete CSV export (13,582 records; ASTM E595 total mass loss, collected volatile condensable material and water vapour regained by material, manufacturer and application).
etd.gsfc.nasa.gov (date not recorded). NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Engineering and Technology Directorate, "Outgassing Database - User Guide" (ASTM E595 apparatus and conditions, TML / CVCM / WVR definitions, and the low-outgassing pass criteria).
Compartment: Air (non-urban air or from high stacks)
ecoinvent 3.12 elementary flow: NMVOC, non-methane volatile organic compounds
Uncertainty: A minimum-maximum range is defined for this flow. Bounds ship with the dataset on Circa.
Unit: g

VOCs (from underfill cure) Emission to airg

Derivation basis: Calculated as an air release, from a mass balance on the process gases going in, with the destruction or removal efficiency of any point-of-use abatement applied.

No source is attached to this row.
Source citations: Not stated
Compartment: Air (non-urban air or from high stacks)
ecoinvent 3.12 elementary flow: NMVOC, non-methane volatile organic compounds
Uncertainty: No range defined.
Unit: g

Emissions to water

1 elementary flow released to water by this dataset's own operations. Quantities are not published; they ship with the dataset on Circa.

Suspended sapphire/GaN dicing solids Emission to waterg

Source citations: p2infohouse.org (date not recorded). Florida Pollution Prevention Program - Electroplating Tip Sheet: Drag-Out Reduction (2000). Report.
p2infohouse.org (date not recorded). Florida Pollution Prevention Program - Electroplating Tip Sheet: Rinse Water Reduction (2000). Report.
Park et al. - Effects of the degradation of methane sulfonic acid electrolyte on the collapse failure of Sn-Ag alloy solders for flip-chip interconnections, RSC Advances, 2017
Compartment: Water (surface water)
ecoinvent 3.12 elementary flow: Suspended solids, unspecified
Uncertainty: A minimum-maximum range is defined for this flow. Bounds ship with the dataset on Circa.
Unit: g

Flows not quantified

1 flow is recorded for this dataset but carries no quantity — cut off below the significance threshold, or with no background dataset available. It remains inside the declared system boundary; each is listed with its reason.

Not quantified - no background dataset available (1)

Gallium nitride Materialkg

Derivation basis: Calculated from per-operation consumption, operation counts, and manufacturing yield.

The sources for this row are listed below.
Source citations (dataset-level): DOE SSL Manufacturing Roadmap 2020
Kingbright LED datasheets
Background data: no background dataset
Background dataset: Not applicable: this flow is not quantified in the inventory.
Reason: The epitaxial gallium nitride active layer. No gallium nitride compound exists in the background database used for linkage. Its constituents are available separately - semiconductor-grade gallium is mapped in this inventory and the nitrogen comes from the fab's own supply - so a user who wants the upstream burden should build it from gallium, ammonia and the deposition energy rather than from a single compound entry. The quantity is recorded here and its upstream production is left unlinked.
Uncertainty: No range defined.
Unit: kg

Limitations and unquantified flows (3)

Limits this dataset declares about itself: first any limit stated in its own description, then any limit it declares flow by flow, grouped by channel. Each entry below is the model's own disclosure.

Not quantifiedProcess water for the die-attach, encapsulation and singulation steps is not quantified on this dataset.
These materials are used at a step of the modelled flow and are also carried by this dataset's own material list. Each is counted once, on that list, and the step does not book it again: Die Attach uses Die attach epoxy (Ag-filled conductive).
Some consumable pulls referenced by the modelled process steps did not resolve to an inventory row and are absent from this dataset. They are itemised in the dataset's own export audit.

The flows above are this dataset's own records. What follows are the scope rules set once for the whole database in the methodology report, repeated here so every dataset page carries them.

Database-wide boundary policy — applies to every REEL dataset

These boundaries are set once for the whole database, in Chapter 2 of the methodology report, and apply to this dataset wherever they are relevant to it. The excluded flows listed above are specific to this dataset.

Use phase: Product operation is outside the cradle-to-gate scope.
End-of-life treatment: Recycling and disposal are outside the cradle-to-gate scope.
Distribution and retail: The gate is a finished component ready for integration into a higher-level assembly.
Inbound transport of raw materials: Transport of purchased raw materials to the manufacturing facility is already inside the upstream "market for" datasets that users link to a background database, so it is not modelled a second time here. This does not cover freight between REEL production stages, which is modelled where a dataset authors it.
Returnable shipping containers: Where freight between production stages is modelled, the mass moved is the product itself. The shipping container (FOSB, SEMI M31) is returnable capital equipment whose per-trip share is unsourced, so its tare is excluded from the transport effort.
Photomask fabrication: A mask set's embodied burden is amortised across a high-volume production run and is not attributed per wafer. Users assessing low-volume production should add mask fabrication separately; the methodology report gives the basis for the exclusion.
Employee transport, administration and R&D overhead: Employee transportation, facility administration and R&D/pilot-production overhead are outside scope.
Capital goods: Manufacturing equipment, cleanroom construction and facility infrastructure are excluded, on the grounds of absent public data on equipment embodied energy, uncertainty in equipment lifetime and allocation, common practice in electronics LCA, and a focus on the operational inventory. Future versions may include capital goods when sufficient public data becomes available.
Precious metal recovery credits: Scrap recovery credits for precious metals are excluded pending data availability.
Wafer reclaim: Test wafers and scrap are outside the system boundary.

Inside the boundary, linked rather than modelled

Silicon ingot growth and wafer slicing: Inside the cradle-to-gate scope, but treated as upstream material inputs linked to background databases rather than modelled as REEL processes.
Freight between production stages: Where a dataset's product moves between REEL production stages - wafer fabrication to the packaging site, for example - that leg is authored as a transport service and linked to an ecoinvent freight activity. It is measured as a transport effort in tonne-kilometres, not as a mass. Route distances are authored per route class with a stated band; a lower bound of zero is a modelling statement that the two sites can be co-located, not a missing value.

Cut-off criteria

A flow is excluded from a process inventory when it contributes less than 1 % of the total mass of inputs to that unit process, or less than 1 % of its total energy input. The denominator is total process inputs, not product mass. That distinction matters in semiconductor manufacturing, where the input mass of water, chemicals and gases greatly exceeds the product mass, so the threshold removes only genuinely minor flows.

Included regardless of the cut-off

Perfluorocarbons (CF4, C2F6, SF6, NF3) - high GWP, EPA regulated
Heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Hg, Cr(VI)) - RoHS regulated, high toxicity
Volatile organics (photoresist solvents, PGMEA) - air quality
Precious metals (Au, Ag, Pd, Pt) - high embodied impacts
Ozone-depleting substances (legacy CFCs, HCFCs) - Montreal Protocol