LED Diodes, SMD Emitters, IR and RGB Components
LED diodes and light-emitting components for PCB and optical projects
This collection centers on surface-mount and through-hole light-emitting diodes in single-color, bicolor, RGB, ultraviolet and infrared versions. The assortment also includes addressable LED pixels and rings, flexible COB filaments, prewired indicators, IR emitter/receiver pairs and a small number of completed strips and bulbs. The selected variant controls the actual device and package count. A headline listing five colors, six footprints and several voltages does not mean one diode accepts all of those conditions.
First distinguish the electrical device
- Unwired indicator diode: a bare two-lead 3 or 5 mm part, or a single-color two-pad SMD emitter, needs appropriate current limiting and polarity control.
- Prewired indicator: a 3/5/10 mm light with a 20 cm lead may include a resistor for one specifically selected 3, 5, 12 or 24 V configuration; the lead and resistor are not implied for a bare part in another listing.
- Bicolor or RGB diode: separate dies in a common package can use common-anode, common-cathode or another pin arrangement; a fixed-color selection does not provide programmable RGB output.
- Addressable pixel: WS2812B-style chips and rings combine color channels with control circuitry and need a matching supply, controller, data protocol and mechanical footprint.
- IR emitter, receiver or VCSEL: an infrared LED radiates light, a photodiode or phototransistor receives it, and a VCSEL is a laser-class source. These devices cannot be substituted just because a title says IR diode.
- Finished lighting or unrelated sensor: 5 V USB RGB strips, 12/24 V UV tape, 24 V RGB tape, E14/E27 mains bulbs, a light-dependent resistor and a glass-bead NTC thermistor have very different functions and safety requirements.
Do not treat the “LED diode” label as a blanket certification, current rating or permission to connect an emitter directly to a voltage supply.
SMD footprints, optical direction and production quantities
0402, 0603, 0805 and 1206 are common small SMD LED sizes in this collection, with additional 1210/3528, 2835, 3014, 5050 and 5730-class choices. Package codes are not a substitute for a dimensional drawing: body length, width, height, land pattern, optical direction and polarity marking can differ between sellers. A 0402 RGB common-anode chip around 1 × 1 mm is not the same pinout or footprint as a fixed-color 0402 LED. Some 0603 RGB products use a 0606/1615-type body with four terminals; selecting 0603 on an assortment page does not automatically select that multichannel package. A 3528 PLCC-2 monochrome LED and PLCC-4 multichannel selection also require different pads.
Loose 50, 100 and 200-piece lots, five-color mixes, 600/750/1,000/1,200-piece sample books and full 2,000/3,000/4,000/5,000-piece reels coexist. “100PCS = five colors × 20PCS” is not a 100-piece lot of each color. A 600-piece kit advertised as six colors × 100 has a different purpose from one 3,000-piece single-color production reel. Verify the selected color composition, quantity, tape orientation and whether the item is actually supplied on a reel before automated assembly. A lot described as 0402/0603/0805/1206 does not mean all packages are present in every selected variant.
Some 0805 examples specify ice blue or green at particular wavelengths and one 1206 blue listing names 460–470 nm; these are selection-specific claims, not collection-wide optical bins. A seller's “ultra bright” wording alone does not establish luminous intensity, flux, viewing angle or the same optical performance at the current your PCB can safely provide. For a repeatable design, request or check wavelength/bin, test current, thermal environment and mechanical drawing for the chosen product.
Visible color, UV and white selections
Separate chip colors include red, yellow, orange, green, emerald green, blue, ice blue, pink and purple. White choices include warm, neutral and cool appearances, and some 5050 listings add RGB or RGBW alongside individual fixed-color diodes. A red 5050 LED, a white 5050 LED, a 5050 RGB LED and an RGBW package differ in internal junctions, pad use and control channels. Likewise, “RGB Fast” or “RGB Slow” on a through-hole flasher can refer to a self-cycling diode rather than an externally programmable red/green/blue unit. Check whether the actual variant is fixed color, bicolor, self-flashing, analog multichannel or digitally addressable.
2835 and 5730-style listings may combine red or yellow lower-forward-voltage options with white and blue higher-forward-voltage options, and may identify different 0.1/0.2/0.5 W classes. The headline's 2 V or 3 V text does not authorize treating every option as a direct 2 or 3 V lamp. Forward voltage varies with junction material, current and temperature. UV-marketed 3528/2835/0805 products and near-UV purple-looking products also have wavelength distinctions; a visually violet chip is not proof of a specified UVA band or validated sterilization performance.
Through-hole, four-pin and prewired choices
3 mm F3 and 5 mm F5 LEDs are offered in clear, colored and diffused lenses, plus rectangular 2 × 3 × 4 and 2 × 5 × 7 mm indicator shapes. Body size, flange, lens transmission, beam angle and lead length affect panel and light-pipe fit. Assorted 60/100/500-piece boxes differ from a single-color lot; a title using the word “Schottky” on a colored 3 mm assortment does not turn an indicator LED into a Schottky rectifier. A four-pin Piranha-style 5 mm LED has a different mechanical and electrical pattern from a conventional two-lead F5, even if both can emit red or warm white. Confirm the exact pin connections and heat path before designing a board.
Bicolor 5 mm products list red/green/blue combinations with common-anode or common-cathode descriptions. Such a package may have more than two leads and requires the corresponding channel mapping. A prewired 5/12/24 V diode may incorporate series resistance; a bare LED with a similar lens shape does not. Some sellers label “DC 5–12 V” or combine 3/5/12/24 V options on one page. Buy the selected rating, wire length and pack count, then confirm the resistor and polarity from that exact item's documentation. Do not combine the highest advertised voltage from one variation with the highest current from a different bare variation.
Infrared emitters and receivers are different parts
Listings here include 3, 5 and 10 mm through-hole IR transmitters, 5050 850 nm SMD emitters, 3535 high-power IR packages and emitter/receiver assortments. Some 5 mm variants use TSAL-style identifiers or IR333-A wording with nominal 940 nm. A named part-number-style listing is not proof of manufacturer provenance without evidence on the exact product. Other kits describe 850 versus 940 nm emitter and receiver pairs; the receiver's spectral sensitivity, package and circuit interface must be evaluated independently from the transmitter. A phototransistor, photodiode and LDR/photoresistor are sensing elements, not alternative IR emitters.
High-power IR chips name 730, 808, 850, 940, 980 or 1064 nm across different selected products; a title that lists those wavelengths is not a multiband device. Optical power, current, forward voltage, beam geometry, thermal dissipation and driver are selection-specific. A 50/100 W-marketed product that also offers “1500mA Driver” or “3000mA Driver” as a variant can ship a driver rather than the source: check the precise selected line before ordering. A seller's night-vision, heating or medical-beauty keywords do not establish validated performance or regulatory suitability.
VCSEL and optical-safety boundary
Several 3535 listings explicitly market VCSEL laser-class infrared sources with nominal 808, 850, 940, 980 or 1064 nm choices, and distinguish a bare source, one on a 16 or 20 mm copper PCB, an optional short lead, and 1- or 5-piece packaging. Treat a VCSEL as a laser, not an ordinary wide-angle LED. Invisible or barely visible near-infrared light can still present an eye hazard. Laser classification, wavelength, optical power, beam geometry, permitted drive and protective enclosure must be verified for the exact assembly. This collection page does not provide a driver circuit, clinical use authorization or safe exposure limit. A copper carrier board helps mounting but does not by itself provide current regulation or sufficient cooling.
COB filaments, addressable pixels and completed lights
Flexible COB filaments for DIY lamp construction appear in selected lengths around 25–450 mm, with 3 V-marketed red, blue, green, yellow and white options in several listings. They are components that require mechanical support, a suitable regulated driver, polarity and thermal review. They are not E27 bulbs simply because a seller calls them Edison lamp parts. High-power 1/3 W-class LEDs on 20 mm star boards or pre-soldered 10 cm leads are another assembly level: board color and one/three-watt selections do not establish a finished heatsink, power supply or weatherproof luminaire.
WS2812B-style 5 V RGB chips and pixel rings have selectable packages and LED counts such as 8, 16, 24, 35, 45 or 60; one headline claims still larger rings. The selected ring board, individual chip and full flexible strip are different deliverables. LED count is not always equivalent to independent pixel count across other strip architectures. Verify controller protocol, physical diameter, power budget, logic interface and orientation before choosing. USB 5 V app/music-sync RGB tape, 12/24 V ultraviolet strip and 24 V RGB tape with separately listed plug kits cannot share the same power/controller assumptions. An E14/E27 220 V corn bulb is a finished mains lamp, not a loose 5730 LED diode; match the chosen base, voltage and fixture clearance.
Unrelated light-sensitive and temperature-sensing entries
One listing calls a 5 mm 5800B photoresistor an “LED diode,” but an LDR is a resistance-changing light sensor and does not generate illumination. An MF58 glass-sealed NTC thermistor offered in 1 kΩ through 1 MΩ-marketed variants is temperature-dependent resistance, not a light-emitting diode; “diode” may refer to the bead's encapsulated appearance rather than its circuit function. Read the selected resistance, B-value, tolerance and pack quantity for the sensing application. These products remain in the collection, but their electrical behavior must not be inferred from the LED guidance above.
Engineering selection checklist
- Identify the functional class: emitter, receiver, resistor sensor, thermistor, multichannel pixel, flexible filament, strip or completed bulb.
- Read the selected option in full: package, color/wavelength, PCB carrier or wire, emitter/receiver designation, electrical variant and quantity.
- Match electrical and mechanical data: forward current, voltage, polarity, thermal path, pin count, pad drawing, lens shape and compatible controller where needed.
- Separate optical claims: visible color, UVA, IR and VCSEL laser sources require different safety and measurement approaches; a dim-looking IR source is not necessarily safe.
- Check order contents: a single color reel, assorted kit, one source, five sources, standalone driver or prewired module are not interchangeable purchase units.
Use the product page and the exact selected variant for verified specifications. Individual seller statements about brightness, wavelength, certification, lifetime, medical use, compatibility or safety must not be generalized to all items in this collection.
