Electronic – the significance of numbers (2,3) mentioned in SOT23

packagessemiconductors

Small outline transistor (SOT) packages have certain numbers which tell the package size, for example, SOT23 or SOT323. But what is the meaning of suffix 23 or 323?

Best Answer

While some packages do have numbers that mean something, the TO, DO, and SOT series are simply serial. SOT-23 is just package number 23 in the JEDEC SOT specifications. There's no significance to the numbers beyond that.

You may occasionally see SOT-23-3 or SOT-23-5 or SOT-23-6; these do have significance, as the last digit is the number of pins on the package. Sometimes SOT-23-5 gets referred to as SOT-25, as well, but this is generally considered incorrect. Similarly for SOT-23-6 being called SOT-26.