The 8-SOIC package is a compact footprint that suits space-constrained PCB layouts, though the 150°C junction limit means the thermal pad and board copper must be sized for the dissipation at high ambient.
Switching speed and dead-time budgeting
Rise and fall times are 100 ns and 50 ns typical. That asymmetry — faster fall than rise — is common in half-bridge drivers and means the low-side turn-off is quicker than the high-side turn-on. When setting dead-time in firmware or hardware, budget for the slower rising edge to avoid shoot-through. The 100 ns rise also limits the maximum practical switching frequency to roughly 100 kHz in hard-switched topologies, though the bootstrap refresh time and gate charge of the external FETs will be the real ceiling.
Package and physical handling
The 8-SOIC narrow-body package (0.154" width, 3.90 mm body) is a standard footprint shared with many logic and interface ICs, so no special land pattern is needed. The part ships in Tube — not Tape & Reel — which is typical for SOIC-8 from Infineon in this series. If your pick-and-place line expects reeled parts, factor in a tube-to-reel transfer or order the Tape & Reel variant (check the IR2101 base number for alternate packaging options).