SN74F38: SN74F38 vs SN54F38 Questions

Hi Alex,

Alex Segler said:

This part SN54F38 and SN74F38 are on the same datasheet can you confirm both of these parts use the same die?

Alex Segler said:

Can you confirm that SN5438 is still in production as stated on ti.com and that SN54F38 is out of production? I cannot find SN54F38 anywhere on ti.com except inside the datasheet for SN74F38.

To answer 1 and 3, it looks like there are only commercial versions of this device still in production. There seems to be an issue with the appendices not generating properly for this datasheet. I will contact the appropriate people to get that fixed so the parts list is appended.

As for 'did they use the same die' -- probably not. Most military parts have a single controlled production line, while commercial parts are intentionally manufactured at multiple sites to meet volume deman. Are they very similar, maybe even the same in design? Probably - I can't say for certain.

As of today, the available versions are:

SN74F38D

SN74F38DR

SN74F38N

SN74F38NSR

Alex Segler said:

I found this part on ti.com SN5438 with no F. Can you tell us what the difference between these two families are?

The two logic families we're talking about are the original SN7400, usually referred to as 7400 series logic or just TTL logic (military version is SN5400), and the F family. Basically every 'new' bipolar logic family improved on the original in some way. F is for "fast," which means it sacrificed power for speed. There are more modern versions that are better.

I would recommend instead to use the SN54LS03 or SN54LS38, as these are generally considered the 'most advanced' version of bipolar logic, and will likely have the most longevity of any of those families.

Since the parts are obsolete, no, this cannot be confirmed.