What this comparator does in the circuit
It accepts a wide single supply from 2V to 36V or dual supplies from ±1V to ±18V, making it a flexible choice for industrial-level threshold detection, zero-crossing detectors, and window comparators in motor drives, power supplies, and sensor interfaces.
Dual-supply operation down to ±1V allows use in split-rail analog front-ends where the common-mode range must include ground.
Output flexibility and input characteristics
The output stage supports CMOS, MOS, open-drain, and TTL logic families — the open-drain option lets multiple comparators wire-OR on a shared pull-up, common in fault monitoring and multiplexed ADC trigger circuits. Maximum input bias current is 0.25µA at 5V, low enough for high-impedance sensor signals without significant offset. Output sink current is rated 20mA typical, sufficient to drive a small relay or LED indicator directly.
Obsolete — sourcing path and successor options
This means TI has discontinued production with no last-time-buy window remaining. The LM2903E4 shares the same 8-SOIC footprint, supply range, temperature grade, and output types — a drop-in swap for the DE4. For dual-sourcing resilience, the industry-standard LM393 (commercial temp) or LM2903 (industrial temp) from multiple manufacturers are also pin-compatible, though the LM393 is limited to 0°C to 70°C.