The DS96F172 and the DS96F174 are high speed quad differential line drivers designed to meet EIA-485 Standards. The DS96F172 and the DS96F174 offer improved performance due to the use of L-FAST bipolar technology. The use of LFAST technology allows the DS96F172 and DS96F174 to operate at higher speeds while minimizing power consumption.

The DS96F172 and the DS96F174 have TRI-STATE outputs and are optimized for balanced multipoint data bus transmission at rates up to 15 Mbps. The drivers have wide positive and negative common mode range for multipoint applications in noisy environments. Positive and negative current-limiting is provided which protects the drivers from line fault conditions over a +12V to −7.0V common mode range. A thermal shutdown feature is also provided. The DS96F172 features an active high and active low Enable, common to all four drivers. The DS96F174 features separate active high Enables for each driver pair.