RS-232 transceiver in a 16-SOIC — the standard serial port interface
It handles the voltage-level translation between a 5V UART logic side and the ±12V RS-232 bus, with a data rate of 120 kbps.
120 kbps data rate — enough for most legacy serial links
The 120 kbps data rate is the standard for the original MAX232 family. It comfortably handles 115200 baud UART communication, which covers the vast majority of RS-232 applications — terminal connections, industrial sensors, barcode scanners, and serial consoles. If your design needs higher throughput (e.g., 1 Mbps), this part is not the fit; look at the MAX3232 or MAX3222 families instead.
The supply voltage range is 4.5V to 5.5V, which means the MAX232IDR requires a 5V rail. It cannot run from a 3.3V supply. If your system is 3.3V-only, you need a 3.3V RS-232 transceiver such as the MAX3232 family.
ROHS3 compliant, so it passes European and global environmental requirements without exemption paperwork. For dual-source planning, the base MAX232 family is second-sourced by multiple vendors (TI, Maxim, Analog Devices, etc.), though pin compatibility should be verified per alternate order code.