JEDEC and EIAJ Standards
SOIC actually refers to at least two different package standards. The EIAJ SOIC body is approximately 5.3 mm (0.21 in) wide while the JEDEC SOIC body is approximately 3.8 mm (0.15 in) wide. The EIAJ packages are also thicker and slightly longer. Otherwise the packages are similar.
Note that because of this, SOIC is not specific enough of a term to describe parts which are interchangeable. Many electronic retailers will list parts in either package as SOIC whether they are referring to the JEDEC or EIAJ standards. The wider EIAJ packages are more common with higher pin count ICs, but there is no guarantee that an SOIC package with any number of pins will be either one or the other.
Read more about this topic: Small-outline Integrated Circuit
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