The SN74ALS231DW is a bus driver from Texas Instruments' ALS (Advanced Low-Power Schottky) logic family. It sits in the Microcontrollers & Processors (MCU / MPU / DSP) category, but its role is purely digital logic — it drives bus lines, buffering and fanning out signals between a processor or controller and the rest of the system. ALS logic is a bipolar TTL family that balances speed and power: faster than standard LS, lower power than AS. The '231DW part is a specific function within that family — a bus driver that can source or sink enough current to drive a heavily loaded parallel bus without signal degradation.
Production status and what it means for your BOM
The part is marked RoHS non-compliant, which is typical for older ALS logic devices that still use lead-bearing solder terminations. If your assembly line or end-market requires full RoHS exemption documentation, confirm the exemption category with your compliance team before committing the BOM line.
The SN74ALS231DW ships in Bulk packaging — loose tubes or trays, not tape-and-reel. This is the standard form for through-hole or large-surface-mount logic devices that are hand-placed or used in low-volume production runs. If your pick-and-place line expects reeled parts, factor in a tube-to-reel transfer step or source a reeled variant. The 'DW suffix indicates the wide-body SOIC (Small Outline Integrated Circuit) package. The footprint is 7.5 mm body width, 0.65 mm pin pitch — a common footprint that mates with standard SOIC-20 land patterns. Confirm the exact mechanical drawing from the TI datasheet for the package outline and standoff height.