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Overview

General comment

High-power surface mount white LED in 3535 package. Larger die and enhanced thermal design vs mid-power 3528. Used where high luminous output is required in compact form. Typical drive currents 350-1000 mA at 1-3 W power levels.

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

System boundary

System boundary - LED SMD 3535System boundary figure: identity, gate in, entering flows, the dashed system boundary and the unit processes inside it, the reference product, emissions and waste, and below it the flows that are recorded but not quantified. No inventory quantities.LED SMD 3535GATE INRaw materials and sub-componentsENTERING FLOWSElectricityProcess gasesProcess chemicalsMaterialsFreight transportOtherSYSTEM BOUNDARYMODELLED UNIT PROCESSES, BY CLASSOtherWafer dicingTestPackage final testThermalAg sinter die attachAssemblyWire bondingUnderfill dispenseLED encapsulationREFERENCE PRODUCTLED SMD 3535Assembled and tested componentEMISSIONS AND WASTEEmissions to airEmissions to waterWaste routesRECORDED BUT NOT QUANTIFIEDIn scope, left out of the quantified inventoryCut off below the significance threshold, or with no background dataset available - each is listed with its reason1FLOWsystem boundaryreference flowentering flowemission / waste

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
3.0
Completeness
2.5
Temporal
1.4
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

14 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
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
  • Cree/Wolfspeed LED datasheets
Background data
proxy-mapped
Background dataset
aluminium oxide, metallurgical
Uncertainty
No range defined.
Unit
kg
Indium tin 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
  • Cree/Wolfspeed LED datasheets
Background data
ecoinvent 3.12
Background dataset
indium tin oxide powder, nanoscale, for sputtering target
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
  • Cree/Wolfspeed 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
  • Cree/Wolfspeed LED datasheets
Background data
ecoinvent 3.12
Background dataset
copper, cathode
Uncertainty
No range defined.
Unit
kg
Silver 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
  • Cree/Wolfspeed LED datasheets
Background data
ecoinvent 3.12
Background dataset
silver
Uncertainty
No range defined.
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
  • Cree/Wolfspeed 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
  • Cree/Wolfspeed 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 · -19.9% / +32.2%
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:
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
-19.9% / +32.2% around the published quantity. The bounds themselves ship with the dataset on Circa.
Unit
kWh
N2 Process gasg · -7.9% / +8%
Source citations
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% / +8% around the published quantity. The bounds themselves ship with the dataset on Circa.
Unit
g
Compressed air Process gasg · -35.3% / +41.2%
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
-35.3% / +41.2% 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
Background data
ecoinvent 3.12 treatment route
Background dataset
treatment of inert waste, sanitary landfill
Uncertainty
No range defined.
Unit
g
Spent buffer pads (PTFE – fluorinated polymer) Solid wasteg
Derivation basis
  • Calculated from the mass balance of spent materials and consumables, with treatment selected from the waste classification.

The sources below come from the manufacturing operations behind this row.

Sources (inherited)
Inherited, rolled up from the contributing process steps:
Background data
ecoinvent 3.12 treatment route
Background dataset
treatment of hazardous waste, hazardous waste incineration, with energy recovery
Uncertainty
No range defined.
Unit
g
Reject Ag-sinter paste / failed dies (precious metal recovery) Solid wasteg
Derivation basis
  • Calculated from the mass balance of spent materials and consumables, with treatment selected from the waste classification.

The sources below come from the manufacturing operations behind this row.

Sources (inherited)
Inherited, rolled up from the contributing process steps:
Background data
ecoinvent 3.12 treatment route
Background dataset
market for precious metal from electronics scrap, in anode slime
Uncertainty
No range defined.
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.

Mixed VOCs Emission to airg
Derivation basis
  • No corresponding ecoinvent dataset or flow was identified for this entry, so it is published with its own quantity and no background link

The sources for this row are listed below.

Source citations
Compartment
Air
ecoinvent 3.12 elementary flow
Not stated
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
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
  • Cree/Wolfspeed 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.
  • Not quantifiedThe silver-sinter die attach is quantified as the metal that stays in the finished joint. The paste is bought wet and carries organic solvents and binders that evaporate during the pre-bake before sintering, and the extra wet paste bought beyond that finished joint is not quantified on this dataset. The solvent release and the silver-bearing reject ARE quantified, and both now follow this part's own finished joint rather than the heavier reference deposit the sintering process states them for, so neither is an upper estimate any longer. Neither is funded on the purchase side. The solvent this dataset releases and the silver it exports as reject are both part of that extra wet paste, and that paste is not bought by any purchase this dataset carries.
  • 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